Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $1.86 Million Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 326.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,906 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Cintas were worth $1,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Cintas by 211.1% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,429,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,350 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,630,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,552,000 after buying an additional 1,222,500 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 211.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,140,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $234,826,000 after buying an additional 774,551 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 291.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 889,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $183,110,000 after buying an additional 662,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 295.6% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 784,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,531,000 after buying an additional 586,271 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS opened at $217.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $87.54 billion, a PE ratio of 54.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $136.50 and a 1 year high of $227.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.79.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.39%.

Cintas declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CTAS. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Cintas in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Cintas from $212.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cintas from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.63.

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.