B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $53.74 Million Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 261,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $53,739,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Cintas during the first quarter valued at approximately $972,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 40.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 216 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 230.5% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after buying an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 88.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,864 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,656,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 41.1% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic assumed 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.63.

Cintas Price Performance

Cintas stock opened at $216.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $221.79 and a 200-day moving average of $196.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.60, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $136.50 and a 52-week high of $227.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released 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. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 39.39%.

Cintas announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.