Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) by 345,196.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,560,741 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,560,289 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $47,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RTO. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Rentokil Initial by 81.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in Rentokil Initial by 168.5% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares during the period. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RTO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Rentokil Initial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group upgraded Rentokil Initial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Rentokil Initial in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Rentokil Initial Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE RTO traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 631,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 515,890. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.17. Rentokil Initial plc has a 12-month low of $23.39 and a 12-month high of $41.55.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.2034 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.7%.

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.