Swedbank AB Acquires Shares of 54,813 Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 54,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,658,000. Swedbank AB owned 0.05% of Cintas at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 5.4% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 349 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 5.0% in the first quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 3.1% in the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 657 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 10.1% in the first quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $756.76 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $713.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $669.48. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $474.74 and a twelve month high of $773.95. The company has a market capitalization of $76.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.26, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas’s stock is scheduled to split on the morning of Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.29%.

Cintas announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTAS. Baird R W lowered Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Cintas from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup downgraded Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Cintas from $775.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $749.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 1,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $693.71, for a total value of $914,309.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 59,770 shares in the company, valued at $41,463,046.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,709 shares of company stock valued at $3,346,441 over the last ninety days. 15.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cintas Company 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.