Cintas Corporation $CTAS Shares Purchased by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,117 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Cintas were worth $5,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CTAS. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Cintas by 5,641.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,016,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $208,682,000 after buying an additional 998,963 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 2,653.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,003,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $188,640,000 after buying an additional 966,597 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 275.2% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,123,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $230,556,000 after buying an additional 823,885 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP increased its position in shares of Cintas by 5,341.8% in the third quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 747,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,352,000 after buying an additional 733,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Cintas by 125.5% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,130,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,004,000 after buying an additional 629,065 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $171.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $190.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.66 billion, a PE ratio of 48.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.01. Cintas Corporation has a 1 year low of $165.60 and a 1 year high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 17.57%.The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 50.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CTAS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Cintas from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cintas from a “cautious” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America began coverage on Cintas in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cintas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.17.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.