Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Boosts Stake in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,607 shares during the period. Cintas accounts for 1.2% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $31,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 127,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,050,000 after acquiring an additional 7,764 shares during the period. Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth $2,130,000. Composition Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 5,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth $75,596,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 204,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,461,000 after acquiring an additional 6,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the sale, the director owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CTAS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cintas from a “cautious” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.17.

Cintas Stock Down 2.9%

CTAS stock opened at $169.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.86 billion, a PE ratio of 47.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $183.59 and its 200 day moving average is $187.22. Cintas Corporation has a one year low of $165.60 and a one year high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.85%.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.