Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Acquired by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 347.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cintas by 311.1% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 37 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Cintas during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Cintas during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Cintas by 1,340.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 144 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Cintas by 226.7% during 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 during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CTAS shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Baird R W cut Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.63.

Cintas Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $214.02 on Monday. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $123.65 and a 12 month high of $215.37. The company has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.12.

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

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is 10.77%.

Cintas Profile

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.