Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Down 2.2%

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) fell 2.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $736.05 and last traded at $740.47. 117,368 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 373,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $756.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CTAS. Baird R W cut shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com raised Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $725.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $530.00 to $570.00 in a report on Friday, May 24th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $749.00.

Cintas Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $716.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $672.68. The stock has a market cap of $75.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.31.

Cintas’s stock is going to split on Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.19. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is 43.09%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 15.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cintas

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LGT Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 311.1% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 37 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

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.