TAP Consulting LLC Cuts Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

TAP Consulting LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 377 shares during the period. TAP Consulting LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $3,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter worth $872,895,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 475.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 299,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $180,423,000 after buying an additional 247,378 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 123.1% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 366,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,326,000 after buying an additional 201,955 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 711.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 152,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,915,000 after buying an additional 133,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 280.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 171,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $103,213,000 after buying an additional 126,266 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CTAS. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $725.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Cintas from $775.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Cintas from $790.00 to $874.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $742.36.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 15.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cintas Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ CTAS traded down $17.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $781.90. 375,733 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 370,279. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $756.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $699.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $474.74 and a 52 week high of $812.01. The stock has a market cap of $79.33 billion, a PE ratio of 54.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.32.

Shares of Cintas are set to split before the market opens on Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $1.56 dividend. This is a positive change from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 43.09%.

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

About Cintas

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.