BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 6,562 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 60.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Cintas were worth $12,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTAS. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cintas by 123.1% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 366,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,326,000 after buying an additional 201,955 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 711.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 152,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,915,000 after acquiring an additional 133,713 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the first quarter worth approximately $84,646,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.1% in the 4th 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. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in Cintas by 124.9% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 195,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $134,318,000 after purchasing an additional 108,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CTAS. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Cintas from $850.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $193.75 price objective (up from $187.50) on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.30.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 125,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cintas Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $204.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.33.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.77%.

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

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.