Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 202,330 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 49.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 210,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 202,330 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $39,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other 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 value of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 14.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CTAS. Citigroup dropped their price target on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America started coverage on Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.17.

Cintas Price Performance

Cintas stock opened at $174.76 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $172.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Cintas Corporation has a 52 week low of $161.16 and a 52 week high of $229.24. The stock has a market cap of $69.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.85%.

About Cintas

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.