Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 420,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,640 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.10% of Cintas worth $76,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 144,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,383 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in shares of Cintas by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 7,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 3,690 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Cintas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 79,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cintas by 160.1% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 325,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,513,000 after purchasing an additional 200,527 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $196.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.35, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.39 and a 200 day moving average of $209.02. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $156.83 and a 52 week high of $228.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.61 earnings per share. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CTAS shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup began coverage on Cintas in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.79.

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.