DnB Asset Management AS Sells 919 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

DnB Asset Management AS trimmed its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 919 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Cintas were worth $13,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at about $250,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,820,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Cintas by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,536,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $280,780,000 after acquiring an additional 92,591 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cintas by 30,130.1% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,898,000 after purchasing an additional 43,086 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $877,216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CTAS shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Cintas in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.58.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $203.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $201.01 and its 200 day moving average is $208.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $82.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.00, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $162.16 and a twelve month high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Cintas 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.