Vest Financial LLC Buys 8,852 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 3.6%, purchasing 8,852 shares in the fourth quarter and now owns 254,868 shares valued at about $47.93 million.
• Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares on April 20 at an average price of $178.87, a transaction that reduced his ownership by 17.21% and left him with 22,448 shares.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $215.17 price target; Cintas reported quarterly EPS of $1.24 (meeting estimates) and revenue of $2.84 billion (beating estimates), and declared a $0.45 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.80, ~1.0% yield).

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,868 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,852 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Cintas worth $47,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 46,446 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in Cintas by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 262,376 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,345,000 after acquiring an additional 14,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 14.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CTAS shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cintas from a "cautious" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $205.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Cintas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $215.17.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $174.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.63 billion, a PE ratio of 49.16, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50-day moving average is $184.92 and its 200-day moving average is $187.50. Cintas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $165.60 and a fifty-two week high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.85%.

Cintas Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.