River Road Asset Management LLC Invests $44.06 Million in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,767,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,055,000. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Rentokil Initial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RTO. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $575,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 403.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,052 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 345,196.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,560,741 shares of the company's stock worth $47,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,289 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,015,514 shares of the company's stock worth $60,768,000 after acquiring an additional 109,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $644,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.91% of the company's stock.

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

RTO traded up $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 616,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,786. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $26.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Rentokil Initial plc has a twelve month low of $22.40 and a twelve month high of $34.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on RTO. Barclays raised Rentokil Initial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Rentokil Initial from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Rentokil Initial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.00.

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.