Fmr LLC Sells 363,182 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Fmr LLC lessened its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,417,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 363,182 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 2.09% of Cintas worth $1,537,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTAS. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cintas by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,544,822,000 after buying an additional 219,809 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter valued at about $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Cintas by 264.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $693,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Cintas by 137.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cintas by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,942,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $354,941,000 after buying an additional 47,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.58.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $190.33 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $201.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.57. The firm has a market cap of $76.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.89, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $162.16 and a 1 year high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.11%.

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.