Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Sold by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lowered its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 11.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,243 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Cintas were worth $4,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 238.4% during the 1st quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 2,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,057 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,386,000 after acquiring an additional 8,614 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 1,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its position in Cintas by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 11,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion increased its position in Cintas by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 6,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,160,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 2,686 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.25, for a total transaction of $1,332,927.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,920,252.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Michael Lawrence Thompson sold 5,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.35, for a total value of $2,516,667.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,617,912.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 2,686 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.25, for a total value of $1,332,927.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,920,252.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,820 shares of company stock valued at $4,926,731. Company insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CTAS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cintas from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Cintas from $419.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $550.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.00.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $505.26 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $495.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $471.71. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $370.93 and a 12-month high of $518.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.41 billion, a PE ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The business services provider reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.14. Cintas had a return on equity of 38.09% and a net margin of 15.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 14.18 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. This is a positive change from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.60%.

Cintas 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.