Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 77 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 17.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas by 311.1% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 37 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in Cintas in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Cintas in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $819.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.74. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $474.74 and a fifty-two week high of $820.96.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.05. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.09%.

Cintas announced 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CTAS. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cintas from $175.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $181.25 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $143.75 to $156.25 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cintas to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $193.75 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.59.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 125,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.