O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 8,391 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,391 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $26,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CTAS. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CTAS shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.17.

Cintas Stock Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $173.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $69.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $172.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.42. Cintas Corporation has a 52-week low of $161.16 and a 52-week high of $227.17.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 17.57%.The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 50.85%.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.