Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,695,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 583,416 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Cintas worth $492,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CTAS. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cintas by 164.1% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 13,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 8,649 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 286.6% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Cintas by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 3,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 7,951.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 196,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,382,000 after acquiring an additional 193,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 255.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,697,000 after acquiring an additional 19,884 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cintas Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CTAS opened at $205.53 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $162.16 and a 1 year high of $228.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.94 billion, a PE ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 36.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.58.

About Cintas

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.