Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $126.05 Million Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 209,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,412 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.21% of Cintas worth $126,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Columbus Macro LLC increased its stake in Cintas by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 33.9% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.6% during the third quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on CTAS shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $700.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $673.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.21.

Cintas Price Performance

CTAS stock opened at $666.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.01, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $440.01 and a 12-month high of $704.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $648.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $593.38.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The business services provider reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 37.19%. Cintas’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 37.29%.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation provides 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.