Callahan Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Callahan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 289.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,756 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $7,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTAS. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 120.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 824 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Team Hewins LLC purchased a new position in Cintas during the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Financial Council LLC purchased a new position in Cintas during the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Cintas by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,562,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CTAS shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W cut Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Cintas in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Cintas from $212.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.63.

Cintas Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $208.99 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $218.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.62. Cintas Co. has a 1-year low of $128.92 and a 1-year high of $215.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.32. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.39%.

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.