Park Avenue Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Rentokil Initial PLC $RTO

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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 also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 171.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Rentokil Initial by 53.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Rentokil Initial by 40.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Rentokil Initial by 88.2% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Stock Down 0.5%

RTO opened at $31.21 on Wednesday. Rentokil Initial PLC has a 52-week low of $19.60 and a 52-week high of $33.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Rentokil Initial Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RTO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Rentokil Initial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research cut Rentokil Initial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

Rentokil Initial Company 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.