Cintas Corporation $CTAS Shares Bought by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 101.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 469,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 236,329 shares during the quarter. Cintas accounts for about 0.7% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Cintas were worth $89,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,994,594,000 after buying an additional 564,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,293,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,746,453,000 after buying an additional 97,220 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $923,672,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,729,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $517,466,000 after buying an additional 158,785 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,559,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,460,000 after buying an additional 12,841 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $179.85 on Monday. Cintas Corporation has a 1-year low of $161.16 and a 1-year high of $229.24. The company has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.81, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $172.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 17.57%.The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.