UBS Group AG Cuts Stock Position in Rentokil Initial PLC $RTO

UBS Group AG reduced its position in Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) by 76.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 373,028 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $3,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RTO. QVIDTVM Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 669.1% in the 3rd quarter. QVIDTVM Management LLC now owns 1,704,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482,865 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 143.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,821,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,471 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 121.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,466,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,035,000 after acquiring an additional 803,280 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 105.8% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,553,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,232,000 after acquiring an additional 798,660 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 662.2% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 778,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,660,000 after acquiring an additional 676,473 shares during the period. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

NYSE RTO opened at $31.38 on Monday. Rentokil Initial PLC has a fifty-two week low of $22.72 and a fifty-two week high of $34.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.88.

Rentokil Initial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $0.412 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 245.0%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RTO. UBS Group upgraded Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Rentokil Initial from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Rentokil Initial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rentokil Initial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.50.

About Rentokil Initial

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.