Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Rentokil Initial from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a 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. assumed coverage on Rentokil Initial in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They set a neutral rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $29.00.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

Shares of Rentokil Initial stock opened at $30.38 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.20. Rentokil Initial has a 1 year low of $23.39 and a 1 year high of $40.81.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Rentokil Initial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 283,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,124,000 after buying an additional 19,872 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 959.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 174,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 157,722 shares during the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 151.0% in the 4th quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 247,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,070,000 after buying an additional 148,656 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 13,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 2,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 64,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 34,588 shares during the last quarter. 9.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.