Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $24,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cintas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,299,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,206,969,000 after acquiring an additional 112,361 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cintas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $872,895,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Cintas by 3.5% in the first 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. grew its position in Cintas by 2.2% in 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 grew its position in Cintas by 6.3% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 638,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $438,402,000 after acquiring an additional 37,727 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Up 0.4 %

Cintas stock opened at $819.83 on Thursday. Cintas Co. has a 1-year low of $474.74 and a 1-year high of $820.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $83.18 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $203.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.16.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.05. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program 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 buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the director now owns 125,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Cintas from $175.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $181.25 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Cintas in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Cintas from $193.75 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.59.

Cintas Company 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.