Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Grows Position in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) by 116.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,400 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,588 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Rentokil Initial were worth $1,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Golden State Equity Partners acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 1,006.7% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 6,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 5,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

Shares of RTO opened at $26.66 on Thursday. Rentokil Initial plc has a 1 year low of $23.39 and a 1 year high of $41.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.27.

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 given a dividend of $0.3784 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This is a boost from Rentokil Initial’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RTO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock.

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.