New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 499,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,100 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.12% of Cintas worth $91,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased 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 period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 297.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,807,860,000 after buying an additional 6,571,128 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 309.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,654,000 after acquiring an additional 6,235,052 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Cintas by 264.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,379,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 308.2% in the third 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 valued at $519,419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904,926 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS opened at $208.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.99 billion, a PE ratio of 50.18, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.38. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $152.77 and a twelve month high of $228.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $196.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTAS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Cintas from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.46.

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.