First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, has reduced its passive stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS). According to a newly-amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, First Eagle holds 9.58 million shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS). The stake represents a decrease from 17.25 million shares the fund held previously. The new stake is equivalent to 8.19% of the company’s common stock.
First Eagle Investment Management invests with a long-term, global perspective. First Eagle has around $66 billion of assets under management. Jean-Marie Eveillard is currently serving as the senior investment adviser to First Eagle Funds. Born in France, Eveillard entered the world of finance in 1962 with an analyst job at Societe Generale. He then relocated to the U.S. in 1968 and worked for SoGen International Fund, which became First Eagle Global in 2000. Eveillard in 2009 moved to a senior advisor role for First Eagle Funds.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2014, First Eagle Investment Management holds equity portfolio valued at just over $40 billion. The fund focuses on technology, services, financials, and basic materials stocks. For the third quarter, three largest holdings of the hedge fund are represented by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), and Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL). First Eagle upped its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2% to 36.29 million shares in the quarter. The fund disclosed ownership of 40.33 million Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares, representing a 3% increase over the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management also boosted its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 3% in the quarter, holding 33.94 million shares of the company.
Cincinnati-based Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) is engaged in providing highly specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout North America. The company designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and has a market cap of around $9 billion. The company’s revenue for the fiscal 2015 second quarter was $1.12 billion, which was approximately the same total as second quarter of 2013. Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) reported its operating income for the second quarter of $181.2 million, which represents an increase of 19.0% compared to last fiscal second quarter of 2013.
Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) has updated its fiscal 2015 guidance. The company now expects fiscal 2015 revenue to be in the range of $4.45 billion to $4.50 billion, and fiscal 2015 EPS to be in the range of $3.49 to $3.54.
Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) stock has been performing well since January 2014. During the last 6 months, the company’s performed at more than 20%. Its monthly performance is 5.05%. On Friday, the company’s stock trades at $77.15. The consensus average target price is $78.33 for the sock, and the consensus average recommendation is ‘HOLD.’
Last month, T Richard Farmer sold 102,870 shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) at an average price of $79.81. In two separate filings, C William Gale disclosed unloading an aggregate 12,243 shares of the company.
In November 2014, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) reported that it sold its Document Storage and Imaging businesses for an aggregate consideration of approximately $180 million. The company sold the businesses, excluding real estate, in three separate transactions to three separate buyers, whose names were not disclosed, according to a news release.
As of the end of third quarter of 2014, First Eagle Investment Management held 12.46 million shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS).
In addition to First Eagle Investment Management, other largest shareholders of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) include Winton Capital Management, led by David Harding, which disclosed ownership of 1.14 million shares, and Jasper Ridge Partners, managed by Mark Wolfson and Jamie Alexander, which reported holding 726,074 shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) as of the end of the third quarter of 2014. Another investor, Gotham Asset Management, run by Joel Greenblatt, boosted its stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) to more than 500% to 565,712 shares in the third quarter, according to our record.
First Eagle Investment Management was founded in 1803 in Germany. The firm moved to the U.S. in 1937 and in 1999 acquired the majority share of Societe Generale Asset Management. The funds managed by Societe then became known as the First Eagle Funds.
Disclosure: none
