Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, StockNewsAPI reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Rentokil Initial from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America lowered shares of Rentokil Initial from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $40.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th.

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

Shares of RTO stock opened at $26.73 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.28. Rentokil Initial has a 1-year low of $23.39 and a 1-year high of $41.55. The company has a market cap of $13.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.06.

Rentokil Initial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.3784 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Rentokil Initial’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.18. Rentokil Initial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gates Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,155,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,490,000 after purchasing an additional 528,409 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,884,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,122,000 after acquiring an additional 81,134 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial in the 4th quarter valued at $77,547,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,025,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,949,000 after purchasing an additional 246,253 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 923,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,224,000 after buying an additional 60,018 shares during the period. 9.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.