Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Purchases 13,566 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 84.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,637 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,566 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Cintas were worth $5,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth about $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Cintas by 264.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $693,503,000 after buying an additional 2,379,932 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $196,057,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 340.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CTAS. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $213.62.

Cintas Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of CTAS traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.40. 1,172,815 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,936,539. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.36. The firm has a market cap of $84.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $162.16 and a 12-month high of $228.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend 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.