Brokerages Set Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Price Target at $29.00

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

RTO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Rentokil Initial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group raised Rentokil Initial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RTO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 4th quarter worth about $77,547,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 345,196.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,560,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,289 shares in the last quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,155,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,490,000 after acquiring an additional 528,409 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,490,000. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,726,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

Shares of Rentokil Initial stock opened at $30.75 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.16. Rentokil Initial has a 1 year low of $23.39 and a 1 year high of $41.55.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

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

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.