Empirical Finance LLC Buys 8,992 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 308.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,909 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,992 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC's holdings in Cintas were worth $2,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Cintas by 291.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 22,321 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,595,000 after acquiring an additional 16,623 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas by 343.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 111,599 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,976,000 after purchasing an additional 86,460 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Cintas by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,351 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,551,000 after purchasing an additional 4,957 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 628.2% during the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 11,797 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,429,000 after buying an additional 10,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 361.9% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CTAS shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Cintas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $212.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cintas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $199.63.

Cintas Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ CTAS traded down $1.46 on Friday, hitting $215.20. 1,792,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,450,435. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $136.50 and a 52-week high of $227.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $221.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.28.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.70 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.39%.

Cintas announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.