Jane Street Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

Jane Street Group LLC cut its stake in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) by 49.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,364 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keystone Financial Services acquired a new position in Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC lifted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 160,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,051,000 after acquiring an additional 35,100 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 431,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,918,000 after acquiring an additional 24,699 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, Pacifica Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,894,000. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rentokil Initial Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:RTO opened at $23.85 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.21. Rentokil Initial plc has a 52 week low of $19.60 and a 52 week high of $34.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.96.

Rentokil Initial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.3825 per share. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Rentokil Initial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RTO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Rentokil Initial from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Rentokil Initial 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.