Baron Wealth Management LLC Takes $563,000 Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 2,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in 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 worth $499,236,000 after buying an additional 1,648,350 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt grew its stake in Cintas by 300.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Cintas by 301.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,084,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $223,256,000 after buying an additional 814,000 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cintas by 211.6% during 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 buying an additional 774,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 291.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 889,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $183,110,000 after purchasing an additional 662,431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CTAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cintas from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Cintas from $212.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given 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 $199.63.

Cintas Trading Up 0.5 %

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

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

Cintas announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.39%.

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.