Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 315,471 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 320.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 413,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 315,471 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Cintas worth $85,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 291.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 22,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,595,000 after purchasing an additional 16,623 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Cintas by 343.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 111,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,976,000 after buying an additional 86,460 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Cintas by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,551,000 after acquiring an additional 4,957 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 628.2% during the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 11,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 10,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 361.9% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CTAS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.63.

Cintas Stock Down 0.7 %

CTAS opened at $215.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $221.49 and its 200 day moving average is $195.50. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $136.50 and a fifty-two week high of $227.35.

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. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.39%.

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