Colonial Trust Advisors Purchases 2,926 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,926 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Cintas were worth $10,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Cintas by 2.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 413,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,909,000 after purchasing an additional 10,249 shares in the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the third quarter valued at $14,312,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,994,594,000 after acquiring an additional 564,487 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at $15,736,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 19.0% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 792,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $162,733,000 after acquiring an additional 126,845 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CTAS shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America started coverage on Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.17.

Cintas Price Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $181.88 on Friday. Cintas Corporation has a one year low of $161.16 and a one year high of $226.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $173.46 and a 200 day moving average of $184.35. The company has a market capitalization of $72.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.38, a PEG ratio of 2.87 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.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Cintas’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.85%.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

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

Cintas Company Profile

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.