Journey Advisory Group LLC Purchases 940 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,442 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Cintas were worth $4,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cintas by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,299,288 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,206,969,000 after purchasing an additional 112,361 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $872,895,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Cintas by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 806,369 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $554,000,000 after purchasing an additional 27,470 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Cintas by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 726,515 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $437,842,000 after buying an additional 15,444 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 6.3% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 638,038 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $438,402,000 after buying an additional 37,727 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTAS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $790.00 to $874.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W downgraded Cintas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Cintas from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $725.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup cut Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $530.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Cintas from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $742.36.

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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CTAS

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded down $9.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $795.70. 91,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 368,491. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $80.73 billion, a PE ratio of 55.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.31. The business's fifty day moving average is $752.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $697.06. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $474.74 and a one year high of $812.01.

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Cintas shares are set to split on the morning of Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.19. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas's payout ratio is 43.09%.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 15.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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