Sunriver Management LLC Makes New $21.86 Million Investment in Rentokil Initial PLC $RTO

Key Points

• Sunriver Management LLC acquired 954,773 shares of Rentokil Initial PLC, valued at approximately $21.86 million, making it the 18th largest position in their portfolio.
• In the latest quarter, various institutional investors, including Gates Capital and Alberta Investment Management, significantly increased their stakes in Rentokil Initial, indicating growing interest in the company.
• While a sell rating was assigned by Sanford C. Bernstein, Rentokil Initial currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a semi-annual dividend yield of 240.0% announced for September 23rd.

Sunriver Management LLC purchased a new position in Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 954,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,864,000. Rentokil Initial comprises about 2.7% of Sunriver Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Sunriver Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Rentokil Initial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,174 shares of the company's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 90,687 shares of the company's stock worth $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 222.6% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,929 shares of the company's stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 24,100 shares during the period. 9.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on RTO. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Rentokil Initial from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

Rentokil Initial stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.94. 690,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 803,676. The company has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Rentokil Initial PLC has a twelve month low of $19.60 and a twelve month high of $32.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.62.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2738 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. Rentokil Initial's payout ratio is presently 29.80%.

About Rentokil Initial

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.