Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,927 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Cintas were worth $16,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Cintas by 299.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after acquiring an additional 10,910,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 297.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,807,860,000 after buying an additional 6,571,128 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cintas by 309.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,693,654,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235,052 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Cintas by 264.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $693,503,000 after buying an additional 2,379,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 308.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,522,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $519,419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,926 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CTAS shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Cintas from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup started coverage on Cintas in a report on Monday. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.79.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS opened at $203.35 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.51. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $154.15 and a 52-week high of $228.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.06 billion, a PE ratio of 49.03, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.38.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.61 EPS. Cintas’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.