Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 305,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,726,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RTO. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Golden State Equity Partners bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the third quarter valued at about $211,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 7,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 8.0% during the third quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on RTO. BNP Paribas raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America downgraded Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Rentokil Initial in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company.

Rentokil Initial Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Rentokil Initial stock traded down $0.58 on Thursday, reaching $26.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 607,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,454. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.25. Rentokil Initial plc has a 52-week low of $23.39 and a 52-week high of $41.55.

Rentokil Initial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.3784 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Rentokil Initial’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.18.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services for rodents, and flying and crawling insects, as well as other forms of wildlife management for commercial customers.