Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 6,014 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,296% compared to the average daily volume of 251 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,650,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,511,135 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,591,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,329,000 after purchasing an additional 490,885 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 837,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,350,000 after purchasing an additional 188,190 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 54.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 268,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,458,000 after purchasing an additional 94,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 87.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 197,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,213,000 after purchasing an additional 92,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of RTO traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $21.04. 1,175,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,397,148. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.19 and its 200 day moving average is $27.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Rentokil Initial has a 1-year low of $19.50 and a 1-year high of $34.67.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.2240 per share. This represents a yield of 188.0%. This is a drop from Rentokil Initial’s previous dividend of $0.4120. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on RTO shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded Rentokil Initial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Rentokil Initial from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.70 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Investec upgraded Rentokil Initial to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Rentokil Initial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.90.

About Rentokil Initial

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) is a business services company headquartered in the United Kingdom. It provides pest control, hygiene, and workplace services to commercial, public-sector, and residential customers. Its offerings are designed to help organizations manage pests, maintain sanitary environments, and support health, safety, and workplace standards.

The company’s pest control services address insects, rodents, and other pests, while its hygiene operations provide washroom services, sanitary products, air care, floor-care solutions, and related workplace services.