DAVENPORT & Co LLC Raises Stake in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 1,309.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 409,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 380,079 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $77,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CTAS. Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $1,335,000. Avanza Fonder AB increased its holdings in Cintas by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 53,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,058,000 after buying an additional 16,022 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Cintas by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 2,822 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas by 2,653.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,003,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,640,000 after buying an additional 966,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 22,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,176,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTAS. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cintas from a “cautious” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $206.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Cintas from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cintas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.25.

Cintas Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $178.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.08. The company has a market capitalization of $71.23 billion, a PE ratio of 51.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Cintas Corporation has a 52-week low of $177.53 and a 52-week high of $229.24.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.48%.

Cintas 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.