Financial Advocates Investment Management Increases Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 834 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Cintas were worth $584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Cintas during the first quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cintas during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CTAS. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $790.00 to $874.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W downgraded Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Cintas from $775.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $742.36.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded up $5.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $803.75. The stock had a trading volume of 45,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,407. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $474.74 and a 1 year high of $805.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $741.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $689.69. The company has a market cap of $81.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.31.

Shares of Cintas are scheduled to split before the market opens on Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Cintas’s payout ratio is 43.09%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Company 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.