Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $1,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 299.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after buying an additional 10,910,285 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Cintas by 309.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,654,000 after acquiring an additional 6,235,052 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at about $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Cintas by 264.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $693,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,379,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $203.22 on Friday. Cintas Co. has a 1-year low of $162.16 and a 1-year high of $228.12. The company has a market capitalization of $82.01 billion, a PE ratio of 49.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $201.01 and a 200-day moving average of $208.92.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CTAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.58.

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.