Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Purchased by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 816.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,502 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Cintas were worth $1,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 117.7% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $8,015,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Cintas by 91.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 48,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,315,000 after acquiring an additional 23,197 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Cintas by 117.7% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Down 0.3 %

Cintas stock traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $761.91. The stock had a trading volume of 450,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,641. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $76.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.31. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $474.74 and a 12 month high of $773.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $711.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $667.69.

Cintas’s stock is going to split on the morning of Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 16.62 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.56 dividend. This is a positive change from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 37.29%.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on CTAS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cintas from $790.00 to $874.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cintas from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $725.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Cintas from $667.00 to $798.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $749.00.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 1,318 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $693.71, for a total value of $914,309.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 59,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,463,046.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,709 shares of company stock valued at $3,346,441 over the last three months. 15.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation provides 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.