Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,300 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,015,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 740 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cintas by 16.8% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,643 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Cintas by 84.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 327 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,073 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,009,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,472 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,410,000 after buying an additional 4,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CTAS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $540.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Cintas from $526.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. StockNews.com raised Cintas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Cintas from $629.00 to $726.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $661.21.

Cintas Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CTAS traded down $2.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $668.41. The company had a trading volume of 324,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,659. Cintas Co. has a 1-year low of $438.59 and a 1-year high of $704.84. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $638.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $581.60. The stock has a market cap of $67.76 billion, a PE ratio of 46.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The business services provider reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 37.19%. Cintas's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.29%.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation provides 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.