Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 7.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 3.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 81.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 3.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 26,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of RTO stock opened at $25.12 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.21. The firm has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11. Rentokil Initial plc has a 12 month low of $23.39 and a 12 month high of $37.44.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.2034 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.7%. Rentokil Initial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Rentokil Initial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Rentokil Initial Company 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.