Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Invests $11.54 Million in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 61,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,541,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CTAS. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 5,641.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,016,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $208,682,000 after buying an additional 998,963 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 2,653.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,003,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,640,000 after buying an additional 966,597 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 275.2% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,123,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $230,556,000 after buying an additional 823,885 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 5,341.8% in the 3rd quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 747,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,352,000 after buying an additional 733,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 2,286.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 736,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $138,536,000 after buying an additional 705,751 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.17.

Cintas Price Performance

CTAS stock opened at $171.26 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Cintas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $161.16 and a fifty-two week high of $229.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.83. The stock has a market cap of $68.52 billion, a PE ratio of 48.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

About Cintas

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.