Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) Lowered to Sell Rating by Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $171.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CTAS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "sell" rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $213.88.

Cintas Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ CTAS traded up $2.00 on Thursday, hitting $211.55. 1,373,132 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,700,323. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Cintas has a twelve month low of $164.93 and a twelve month high of $228.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50 day moving average price is $202.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.34.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. Cintas's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cintas will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cintas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Cintas by 264.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $693,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Cintas by 19,644.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,263,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $465,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,251,629 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. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $196,057,000. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.