First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 471.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,703 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $2,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Cintas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $233,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Cintas by 0.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,280,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas in the first quarter worth $45,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 6.9% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 120.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CTAS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.63.

Cintas Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $207.85 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.62 and a fifty-two week high of $215.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $217.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.29. The stock has a market cap of $21.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.32.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 10.77%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.