Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $281.18 Million Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 401,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,410 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Cintas were worth $281,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cintas by 111.5% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,151,000 after buying an additional 3,878 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas by 105.7% in the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,515,000 after buying an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas by 17.1% in the second quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,511,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the period. Finally, Bensler LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas by 4.7% in the second quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 14,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,048,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CTAS. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $143.75 to $156.25 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $181.25 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Two 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 a consensus target price of $186.30.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $203.77 on Wednesday. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $118.68 and a 12 month high of $209.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced 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. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 10.77%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

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.