Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 8,563 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,070,146 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,563 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.27% of Cintas worth $195,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,380 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Cintas by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CTAS. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $213.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 256,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cintas Trading Down 0.6 %

CTAS traded down $1.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $208.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,172,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,694,970. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $162.16 and a 12-month high of $228.12. The company has a market cap of $84.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.25, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $201.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.37.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

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

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.