Choate Investment Advisors Acquires 228 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Cintas were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 299.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,996,697,000 after purchasing an additional 10,910,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 297.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,693,654,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235,052 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 264.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $693,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,904,926 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTAS. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.79.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $195.17 on Tuesday. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $155.89 and a 1 year high of $228.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $78.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.06, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $200.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.17.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

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.