Nomura Holdings Inc. Increases Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 52.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,508 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,586 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $7,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTAS. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 340.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $224,312,000 after acquiring an additional 841,952 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 137.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $457,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,668 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CTAS. Bank of America began coverage on Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $213.88.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of Cintas stock traded up $2.36 during trading hours 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. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $164.93 and a one year high of $228.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $89.18 billion, a PE ratio of 53.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 is 36.11%.

Insider Activity at Cintas

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

Cintas Company 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.