Fred Alger Management LLC Decreases Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS – Get Rating) by 17.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,630 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $16,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Cintas during the third quarter worth $27,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Cintas by 169.2% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Cintas during the second quarter worth $39,000. 61.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CTAS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Cintas from $393.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Cintas from $435.00 to $500.00 in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cintas from $495.00 to $530.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Cintas from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cintas from $373.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $476.10.

Cintas Stock Performance

Cintas stock opened at $441.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $440.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $431.06. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $343.86 and a 52 week high of $470.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 21st. The business services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.03 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.89% and a net margin of 15.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 14th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 37.43%.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other Cintas news, CAO Michael Lawrence Thompson sold 14,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.98, for a total transaction of $6,583,479.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,318 shares in the company, valued at $10,376,043.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Cintas news, CAO Michael Lawrence Thompson sold 14,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.98, for a total transaction of $6,583,479.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,318 shares in the company, valued at $10,376,043.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Michael Hansen sold 1,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.85, for a total value of $714,913.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,313,824.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Cintas Corp. engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms through rental and sales programs. It operates through the following segments: Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other. The Uniform Rental and Facility Services segment consists of the rental and servicing of uniforms and other garments including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items.