Eschler Asset Management LLP Lowers Stock Position in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

Eschler Asset Management LLP cut its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,958 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,042 shares during the period. Eschler Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RTO. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Rentokil Initial by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 15,208.3% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Rentokil Initial by 486.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Rentokil Initial during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 140.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the period. 9.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

NYSE:RTO opened at $23.39 on Friday. Rentokil Initial plc has a 52 week low of $19.60 and a 52 week high of $34.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.39. 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 company has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.96.

Rentokil Initial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.3825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Rentokil Initial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.