Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Shares Gap Down to $28.25

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $28.25, but opened at $26.00. Rentokil Initial shares last traded at $26.46, with a volume of 334,861 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on RTO. Bank of America lowered Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th.

Rentokil Initial Stock Up 3.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.91 and a 200 day moving average of $28.59.

Rentokil Initial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.3784 dividend. This is an increase from Rentokil Initial’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.18. This represents a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RTO. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,569,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $157,000. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $881,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,535,000. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.