Silvant Capital Management LLC Buys 10,964 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 260.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,964 shares during the period. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $3,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas by 343.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 111,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,976,000 after buying an additional 86,460 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Cintas by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,551,000 after acquiring an additional 4,957 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA raised its holdings in Cintas by 628.2% in the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 11,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 10,177 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 2,063.6% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 23,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,666,000 after acquiring an additional 22,700 shares during the period. Finally, Searle & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 7,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CTAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Baird R W cut shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.63.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $205.62 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $217.75 and a 200-day moving average of $191.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $82.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $126.74 and a 1 year high of $215.37.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.39%.

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

About Cintas

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.