Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Grows Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 65.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital CS Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Capital CS Group LLC now owns 920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $193.75 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Cintas from $850.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Baird R W cut shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.75 price objective (up previously from $187.50) on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.41.

Cintas Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $204.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $204.83 and a 200 day moving average of $181.35. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $118.68 and a 1 year high of $209.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 10.77%.

Cintas announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 15.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.