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

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) by 626.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,838 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,795 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RTO. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 151.0% during the 4th quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 247,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,070,000 after acquiring an additional 148,656 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 116.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 64,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 34,588 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 923,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,224,000 after acquiring an additional 60,018 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,802,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,897,000 after acquiring an additional 116,496 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097 shares during the period. 9.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

RTO opened at $26.23 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.18. Rentokil Initial plc has a 1-year low of $23.39 and a 1-year high of $41.55.

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 paid a $0.3784 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Rentokil Initial’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RTO shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Rentokil Initial in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th.

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.