Rossby Financial LCC Invests $267,000 in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,460 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 137.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at $196,057,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 340.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $224,312,000 after buying an additional 841,952 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,835,235.36. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at $5,647,979.84. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CTAS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $213.62.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $205.76. 1,712,106 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,699,841. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $201.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $162.16 and a 1 year high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The company's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.