Busey Bank Purchases 931 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Busey Bank boosted its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 309.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Cintas were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt increased its position in Cintas by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,630,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,500 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Cintas by 3,302.1% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 501,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,194,000 after purchasing an additional 486,500 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Cintas by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 510,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,170,000 after purchasing an additional 383,124 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Cintas by 305.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 484,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,660,000 after purchasing an additional 364,659 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cintas by 123.1% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 366,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,326,000 after purchasing an additional 201,955 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Price Performance

CTAS opened at $207.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.02. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $123.65 and a 52-week high of $215.37.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Cintas declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.63.

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.