Howland Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Howland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,684,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Cintas by 299.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,996,697,000 after buying an additional 10,910,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 297.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,807,860,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571,128 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 309.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,654,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235,052 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Cintas by 264.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $693,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 308.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,522,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $519,419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,926 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.46.

Cintas Stock Down 1.1 %

CTAS stock opened at $202.06 on Friday. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $150.70 and a 52-week high of $228.12. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.38.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% 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 year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.61%.

Cintas Company Profile

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.