Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Boosts Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 155,328 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,539 shares during the quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $28,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cintas by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,544,822,000 after purchasing an additional 219,809 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at about $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 264.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $693,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,379,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 valued at $457,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "sell" rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $213.62.

Cintas Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $205.76. 1,712,106 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,699,841. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $201.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.31. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $162.16 and a 52 week high of $228.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $83.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Cintas Company 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.