Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Invests $925,000 in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,061 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CTAS. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Cintas by 340.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $224,312,000 after purchasing an additional 841,952 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Cintas by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $457,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter worth $319,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $213.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other Cintas news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,835,235.36. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. This trade represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $220.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,430,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,707,584. The company's 50 day moving average price is $204.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $89.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $164.93 and a 52-week high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.11%.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, as well as sells uniforms.