Park Avenue Securities LLC Takes $1.78 Million Position in Rentokil Initial PLC $RTO

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 60,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,783,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RTO. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Rentokil Initial by 292.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 117,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,687,000 after acquiring an additional 87,405 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 88.2% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the period. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the second quarter worth $393,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 10.3% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 2,549.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 93,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 89,649 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on RTO. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rentokil Initial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Rentokil Initial from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Rentokil Initial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Rentokil Initial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.50.

Rentokil Initial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:RTO opened at $31.21 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.12. Rentokil Initial PLC has a 12-month low of $19.60 and a 12-month high of $33.47.

Rentokil Initial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.412 per share. This represents a yield of 266.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th.

Rentokil Initial Profile

Rentokil Initial PLC is a global business services company specializing in pest control, hygiene and workwear services. Headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom, the company delivers outsourced solutions designed to protect people, preserve assets and enhance workplaces for both commercial and residential customers.

Under the Rentokil Pest Control brand, the company offers services ranging from routine inspections and treatment of insects, rodents and birds to specialised programmes for food manufacturing and healthcare environments.