Marshall Wace LLP Increases Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 15,965.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 353,437 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 351,237 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.09% of Cintas worth $64,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Cintas by 264.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $693,503,000 after buying an additional 2,379,932 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Cintas by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $457,574,000 after buying an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth about $196,057,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Cintas by 340.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $224,312,000 after purchasing an additional 841,952 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTAS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus raised shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $213.62.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $207.32. 516,370 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,697,870. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $162.16 and a twelve month high of $228.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $201.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas's payout ratio is 36.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the 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 directly 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. Corporate insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

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.