PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 964,698 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 299.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,286,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 964,698 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $264,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Cintas by 211.1% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,429,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,350 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Cintas by 300.0% during the third quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,630,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,552,000 after buying an additional 1,222,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Cintas by 301.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,084,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $223,256,000 after acquiring an additional 814,000 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 211.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,140,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $234,826,000 after acquiring an additional 774,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 291.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 889,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $183,110,000 after purchasing an additional 662,431 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CTAS shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Cintas in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cintas from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.63.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $216.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.60, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $136.50 and a 52-week high of $227.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $221.79 and its 200 day moving average is $196.06.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 39.39%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock 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.