Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 705,751 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 2,286.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 736,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 705,751 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $138,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 14.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cintas Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CTAS opened at $168.31 on Friday. Cintas Corporation has a 1-year low of $161.16 and a 1-year high of $229.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.74 and a 200 day moving average of $185.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CTAS shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.17.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.