Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Purchases 2,703 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,703 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.06% of Cintas worth $42,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,299,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,206,969,000 after purchasing an additional 112,361 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 806,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $554,000,000 after buying an additional 27,470 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 638,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,402,000 after acquiring an additional 37,727 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 21.1% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 387,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,323,000 after acquiring an additional 67,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cintas by 123.1% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 366,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,326,000 after acquiring an additional 201,955 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CTAS shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cintas from $143.75 to $156.25 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Cintas from $850.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $181.25 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Baird R W cut Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.30.

Cintas Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $204.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a P/E 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 company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.48.

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

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.39 dividend. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 125,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.