Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $1.61 Million Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 65.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cintas by 2.2% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,378,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 111.5% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,878 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 17.1% during the second quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,511,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 105.7% during the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Finally, Bensler LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 4.7% during the second quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 14,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,048,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.75 price target (up previously from $187.50) on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W lowered shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cintas to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Cintas from $850.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $132.50 to $142.50 in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.41.

Cintas Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $204.95 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $204.83 and a 200-day moving average of $181.35. The company has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $118.68 and a one year high of $209.12.

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

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

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 10.77%.

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.