Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 65 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Cintas by 299.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after buying an additional 10,910,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 297.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,807,860,000 after acquiring an additional 6,571,128 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 309.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,693,654,000 after acquiring an additional 6,235,052 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Cintas by 264.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $693,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,379,932 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas by 308.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,522,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $519,419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $203.06 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $198.90 and a 200-day moving average of $209.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.96, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $154.15 and a 12 month high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CTAS. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.79.

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.