Insider Selling: Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) Director Sells 4,666 Shares of Stock

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) Director Ronald Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Cintas Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of CTAS stock traded down $1.60 on Wednesday, hitting $174.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,404,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,283. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.01. Cintas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $165.60 and a fifty-two week high of $229.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $186.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cintas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in Cintas by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 99,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Cintas by 2.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 413,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $84,909,000 after buying an additional 10,249 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Cintas by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,994,594,000 after buying an additional 564,487 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,736,000. Finally, Prana Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,312,000. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CTAS. Argus raised shares of Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Cintas in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.17.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.