Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Cintas Corporation (CTAS) Anymore

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) was in 16 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. CTAS has seen a decrease in hedge fund sentiment of late. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with CTAS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of indicators market participants can use to track stocks. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can beat the broader indices by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are many stimuli for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS).

What does the smart money think about Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.

Of the funds we track, First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, holds the biggest position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS). First Eagle Investment Management has a $742.7 million position in the stock, comprising 2.5% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is David Harding of Winton Capital Management, with a $28.4 million position; the fund has 0.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Judging by the fact that Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) has witnessed falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. At the top of the heap, Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management sold off the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, totaling an estimated $2.3 million in stock., and Glenn Russell Dubin of Highbridge Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $1.4 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Insider trading activity in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS). These stocks are Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL), Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS), Global Payments Inc (NYSE:GPN), FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FLT), and Vantiv Inc (NYSE:VNTV). All of these stocks are in the business services industry and their market caps are similar to CTAS’s market cap.

With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) is no exception.

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