Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 82,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,947 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $15,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Cintas by 340.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $224,312,000 after buying an additional 841,952 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 14,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,979,000 after acquiring an additional 9,072 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 299.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 21,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,371,000 after purchasing an additional 15,919 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 285.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 14,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,027,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cintas by 299.7% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CTAS shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Cintas in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Cintas in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.62.

Cintas Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $209.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $201.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.36. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $162.16 and a 52-week high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

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 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.