First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Sells 2,531 Shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lowered its holdings in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,531 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter worth $12,490,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,726,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Rentokil Initial by 43.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 545,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,198,000 after purchasing an additional 163,796 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 959.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 174,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 157,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iridian Asset Management LLC CT lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 151.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RTO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

Shares of RTO opened at $26.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.64. Rentokil Initial plc has a 52 week low of $23.39 and a 52 week high of $41.55.

Rentokil Initial Increases Dividend

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

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.