Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Shares Gap Down to $28.25

Shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $28.25, but opened at $26.00. Rentokil Initial shares last traded at $26.46, with a volume of 334,861 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on RTO. Bank of America cut Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $40.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th.

Rentokil Initial Trading Down 7.3 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.61.

Rentokil Initial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.3784 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Rentokil Initial’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RTO. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at $1,569,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at $157,000. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at $881,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at $21,535,000. 9.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rentokil Initial Company 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.