TradeLink Capital LLC Invests $770,000 in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

TradeLink Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000. Cintas makes up 2.3% of TradeLink Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 23.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 402 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Cintas by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 72,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,818,000 after buying an additional 2,251 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Cintas by 226.7% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Cintas by 25.1% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cintas Price Performance

Cintas stock opened at $206.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.34. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $118.68 and a 1 year high of $207.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. Cintas’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 43.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CTAS. Barclays increased their target price on Cintas from $175.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.75 price objective (up previously from $187.50) on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cintas to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Baird R W cut shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $143.75 to $156.25 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.59.

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.