Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Increases Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,875 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Cintas by 299.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 297.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,807,860,000 after acquiring an additional 6,571,128 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 309.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,235,052 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 2,379,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 308.2% during 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 worth $519,419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904,926 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTAS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.46.

Cintas Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $204.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $82.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $198.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Cintas Co. has a 1-year low of $150.70 and a 1-year high of $228.12.

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

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 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.