Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Has $31.09 Million Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,182 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,620 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Cintas were worth $31,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cintas by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,544,822,000 after buying an additional 219,809 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $935,146,000 after acquiring an additional 296,059 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 264.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $693,503,000 after buying an additional 2,379,932 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 137.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $457,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,668 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other Cintas news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CTAS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Cintas in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "sell" rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $213.62.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS traded down $1.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $207.06. The stock had a trading volume of 460,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,690,632. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $201.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.61 billion, a PE ratio of 49.92, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $162.16 and a 12 month high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas's payout ratio is 36.11%.

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.