Certuity LLC Sells 81 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Certuity LLC lowered its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 299.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after acquiring an additional 10,910,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 297.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,807,860,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571,128 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cintas by 309.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,693,654,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235,052 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Cintas by 264.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $693,503,000 after buying an additional 2,379,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Cintas by 308.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,522,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $519,419,000 after buying an additional 1,904,926 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CTAS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.46.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $204.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.57 billion, a PE ratio of 49.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.38. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $150.70 and a 52-week high of $228.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.61 earnings per share. Cintas’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 37.61%.

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.