Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 7,238 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Cintas stake by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,238 shares and leaving it with 9,288 shares valued at about $1.75 million.
• Cintas reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.24 matching estimates and revenue of $2.84 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 8.9% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share and received mixed analyst views, with the consensus rating at Hold and an average price target of $215.17.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,288 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,238 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $1,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTAS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cintas by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,994,594,000 after purchasing an additional 564,487 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Cintas by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,729,394 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $517,466,000 after purchasing an additional 158,785 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Cintas by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,559,852 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $524,460,000 after purchasing an additional 12,841 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Cintas by 39.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,223,411 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $442,548,000 after purchasing an additional 623,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Cintas by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,002,205 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $376,647,000 after purchasing an additional 181,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Cintas Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $164.67 on Tuesday. Cintas Corporation has a 1 year low of $163.45 and a 1 year high of $229.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $65.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.52, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.44.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 17.57%.The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas's payout ratio is presently 50.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CTAS. Bank of America began coverage on Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cintas from a "cautious" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $215.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation NASDAQ: CTAS is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.

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