Stephens Inc. AR Grows Stake in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 406,486 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,836 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR owned approximately 0.08% of Rentokil Initial worth $10,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RTO. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 345,196.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,560,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560,289 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 130.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,839,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,860 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,764,000. Nicholas Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,093,000. Finally, Iridian Asset Management LLC CT lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 719,795 shares of the company's stock worth $17,944,000 after acquiring an additional 177,101 shares during the period. 9.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Rentokil Initial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays raised Rentokil Initial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Rentokil Initial from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rentokil Initial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Rentokil Initial Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of RTO stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.74. 518,725 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 922,924. The company's 50 day moving average is $26.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.94. Rentokil Initial plc has a 1 year low of $22.40 and a 1 year high of $34.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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.