D Orazio & Associates Inc. Increases Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 305.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 311.1% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 37 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cintas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 226.7% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 56 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CTAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.63.

Cintas Trading Up 0.3 %

CTAS traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $225.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 173,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,373. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $135.07 and a fifty-two week high of $227.35. The stock has a market cap of $90.94 billion, a PE ratio of 56.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $220.30 and its 200-day moving average is $194.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 39.39%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cintas 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.