Bellwether Advisors LLC Sells 2,076 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Bellwether Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 43.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,076 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $1,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CTAS. Vantage Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Cintas by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Cintas by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in Cintas by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 35,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,459,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTAS traded up $5.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $805.12. 395,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 342,563. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $81.13 billion, a PE ratio of 55.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.31. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $474.74 and a twelve month high of $807.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $747.43 and its 200-day moving average is $693.14.

Cintas shares are set to split on the morning of Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 43.09%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CTAS. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $775.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $725.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cintas to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $670.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $742.36.

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.