Central Bank & Trust Co. Has $231,000 Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Central Bank & Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,124 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Cintas by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,228,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $407,163,000 after acquiring an additional 468,950 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Cintas by 137.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,668 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth about $284,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 170,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,092,000 after buying an additional 18,620 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $227.66 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.46. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $169.46 and a one year high of $229.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.93 billion, a PE ratio of 54.89, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 36.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,835,235.36. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTAS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Argus raised Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Cintas in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.88.

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.