Eastern Bank Has $852,000 Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Cintas were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CTAS. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Cintas by 5.4% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 63,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,738,000 after purchasing an additional 3,259 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after buying an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 226.7% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 2.8% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Cintas by 17.6% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 547 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CTAS. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.46.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $190.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $206.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.75. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $146.29 and a 12-month high of $228.12. The company has a market capitalization of $76.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

About Cintas

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.