Cintas Corporation $CTAS Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,062 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $21,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CTAS. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Cintas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 22,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cintas Stock Performance

Cintas stock opened at $179.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.49. Cintas Corporation has a 1-year low of $161.16 and a 1-year high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $71.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.94.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS 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 paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is 50.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CTAS shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.