Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Holdings Lowered by Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 420 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CTAS. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 25.0% in the second quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 3.7% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in Cintas by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital CS Group LLC increased its stake in Cintas by 1.9% during the second quarter. Capital CS Group LLC now owns 920 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTAS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $667.00 to $798.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $790.00 to $874.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $670.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $742.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cintas Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $797.18. The stock had a trading volume of 12,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 368,169. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $754.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $697.77. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $474.74 and a twelve month high of $812.01. The firm has a market cap of $80.88 billion, a PE ratio of 55.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Shares of Cintas are scheduled to split before the market opens on Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.09%.

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

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.