Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 13.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 703,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,771 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $144,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cintas by 2.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Cintas by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $935,146,000 after buying an additional 296,059 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cintas during the 4th quarter valued at $877,216,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Cintas by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $743,048,000 after buying an additional 472,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Cintas by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,655,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $667,919,000 after buying an additional 115,268 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $222.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.08. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $213.38 and a 200 day moving average of $205.59. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $169.96 and a fifty-two week high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $171.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.81.

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.