Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Bought by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 838 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $27,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CTAS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Cintas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,299,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,206,969,000 after acquiring an additional 112,361 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $872,895,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 806,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $554,000,000 after acquiring an additional 27,470 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 726,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $437,842,000 after acquiring an additional 15,444 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Cintas by 6.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 638,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $438,402,000 after purchasing an additional 37,727 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CTAS shares. Barclays increased their target price on Cintas from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $670.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. 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, Cintas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $742.36.

Cintas Stock Up 1.1 %

CTAS opened at $772.98 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $731.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $682.55. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $474.74 and a 52 week high of $773.95. The firm has a market cap of $78.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.38, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Shares of Cintas are set 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 distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.09%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

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.