Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 2,729.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 617,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 595,469 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $112,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $932,000. Define Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Cintas during the 4th quarter valued at $323,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Cintas by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,929,000 after buying an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 5,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on CTAS shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 lowered their target price on shares of Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.46.

Cintas Stock Up 0.9 %

CTAS opened at $192.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $77.55 billion, a PE ratio of 48.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.53. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $146.29 and a 1 year high of $228.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $206.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.87.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 39.39%.

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.