Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 364,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,786 shares during the quarter. Cintas makes up approximately 0.7% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Cintas worth $255,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vantage Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $1,029,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $782,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $204.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $118.68 and a 1 year high of $209.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cintas Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTAS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $181.25 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cintas to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.30.

Cintas 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.