Gates Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

Gates Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,258,013 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,084,845 shares during the quarter. Rentokil Initial comprises about 3.0% of Gates Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Gates Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.24% of Rentokil Initial worth $158,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in Rentokil Initial by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 15,208.3% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 486.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 140.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,402 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on RTO. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Rentokil Initial from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Rentokil Initial Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:RTO traded up $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $23.12. The stock had a trading volume of 67,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,250. The stock has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.45 and a 200 day moving average of $24.35. Rentokil Initial plc has a 12-month low of $19.60 and a 12-month high of $34.07.

Rentokil Initial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.3825 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Rentokil Initial's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.71%.

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.