Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Rentokil Initial by 15,208.3% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Rentokil Initial by 486.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 140.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,402 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.91% of the company's stock.

Rentokil Initial Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:RTO opened at $22.80 on Wednesday. Rentokil Initial has a 1 year low of $19.60 and a 1 year high of $34.07. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.44.

Rentokil Initial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.3825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Rentokil Initial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.71%.

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.

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