Toronto Dominion Bank Cuts Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Toronto Dominion Bank lessened its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 176,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,139 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Cintas were worth $32,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 340.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $224,312,000 after buying an additional 841,952 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 valued at $457,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 199.7% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $171.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Cintas in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. This represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 256,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cintas Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $220.85 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $89.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $164.93 and a 52-week high of $228.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.70.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.