Redwood Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Redwood Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,332 shares during the quarter. Redwood Investments LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $2,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,544,822,000 after buying an additional 219,809 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $935,146,000 after purchasing an additional 296,059 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at $877,216,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $743,048,000 after acquiring an additional 472,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Cintas by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,570,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $469,656,000 after purchasing an additional 78,533 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Down 0.5%

Cintas stock opened at $214.19 on Thursday. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $164.93 and a one year high of $228.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $203.67 and a 200 day moving average of $204.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $86.49 billion, a PE ratio of 51.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was 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 $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CTAS shares. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $171.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.88.

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.