Ethic Inc. Lowers Stake in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

Ethic Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO - Free Report) by 55.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,217 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,446 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 30,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 6,645 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 277.4% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,661 shares of the company's stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 24,006 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Rentokil Initial by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 28,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 12,049 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,697,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 94.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 462,657 shares of the company's stock worth $11,714,000 after purchasing an additional 225,214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.91% of the company's stock.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

Shares of RTO stock traded up $0.19 on Monday, hitting $23.56. The company had a trading volume of 675,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,271. Rentokil Initial plc has a twelve month low of $19.60 and a twelve month high of $34.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.29.

Rentokil Initial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.3825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Rentokil Initial's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on RTO. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Rentokil Initial from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Rentokil Initial 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.