Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,440,160 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 598,600 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.60% of Cintas worth $445,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Cintas by 136.8% during the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTAS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cintas presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $213.62.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of Cintas stock traded up $3.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $206.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,116,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,472. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $201.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.23. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $162.16 and a 12-month high of $228.12. The company has a market capitalization of $83.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Cintas's payout ratio is 36.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

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.