Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Grows Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 289.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cintas by 226.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 56 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CTAS. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cintas from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cintas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.63.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $219.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.79. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $131.01 and a 52 week high of $219.87. The company has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.43, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.39%.

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

Cintas Company 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.