Founders Financial Alliance LLC Increases Stock Position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 27.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 26.7% during the 4th 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. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 170,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,092,000 after acquiring an additional 18,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 60,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,327,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martin Mucci purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $222.55 per share, with a total value of $267,060.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,303.55. This represents a 84.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total transaction of $1,136,121.48. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,904,049.15. This trade represents a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CTAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cintas from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $196.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $239.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.54.

Cintas Stock Up 1.3%

CTAS stock opened at $226.27 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.26. The company has a market capitalization of $91.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.82. Cintas Corporation has a 12 month low of $180.78 and a 12 month high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Cintas had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The business had revenue of $2.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

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.