Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Position Raised by Nebula Research & Development LLC

Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,921 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,831 shares during the quarter. Cintas accounts for 0.4% of Nebula Research & Development LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Cintas were worth $3,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTAS. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 125,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,929,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 12,926 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 5,857 shares during the period. Topsail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $221,000. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 84,349 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,411,000 after purchasing an additional 21,381 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. This 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CTAS. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Argus raised shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $213.62.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.42. The company had a trading volume of 338,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,906,918. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $201.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.36. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.16 and a fifty-two week high of $228.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.56 billion, a PE ratio of 50.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.11%.

About Cintas

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.