Bridgewater Associates LP Takes Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,544,822,000 after acquiring an additional 219,809 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Cintas by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $935,146,000 after purchasing an additional 296,059 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter valued at $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 264.7% during the 3rd 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after buying an additional 1,286,668 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTAS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. 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. Finally, 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, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.62.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $205.76 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.32. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $162.16 and a twelve month high of $228.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.11%.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 256,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

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.