Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 20,635 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 114,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,635 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Cintas were worth $23,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Cintas by 136.8% in the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Cintas by 239.3% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $222.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.58, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.59. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $169.96 and a one year high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

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

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 256,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. This trade represents a 23.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CTAS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $171.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America started coverage on Cintas in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus raised Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.81.

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.