Ieq Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $8,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Cintas during the second quarter worth about $3,664,000. Sienna Gestion increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 702 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 37.6% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,193,000 after acquiring an additional 2,417 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Trading Up 1.2 %

Cintas stock opened at $203.74 on Friday. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $118.68 and a 52 week high of $209.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $206.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.97.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Cintas declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in 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 of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 10.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CTAS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W cut Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. 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. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $132.50 to $142.50 in a report on Friday, May 24th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.30.

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.