Suncoast Equity Management Purchases 8,475 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Suncoast Equity Management boosted its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 313.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,475 shares during the period. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Cintas were worth $2,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 0.9% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its holdings in Cintas by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Cintas by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.2% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on CTAS shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Baird R W cut Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Cintas from $212.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.63.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 125,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 15.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cintas Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of CTAS stock traded down $3.04 on Monday, hitting $210.98. The stock had a trading volume of 134,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,095. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $214.61 and a 200 day moving average of $189.12. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $123.65 and a 12-month high of $215.37. The stock has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.32.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.77%.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.