Fmr LLC Increases Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Fmr LLC lifted its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 65.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,574 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $1,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROL. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 42.5% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Rollins by 114.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Rollins by 3.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,236,421 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,325,000 after acquiring an additional 43,144 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Rollins by 18.4% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 287,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,036,000 after acquiring an additional 44,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Rollins during the second quarter valued at approximately $600,000. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROL opened at $48.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a PE ratio of 50.80 and a beta of 0.72. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $52.16.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com cut Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.67.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides pest and wildlife control services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers pest control services to residential properties protecting from common pests, including rodents, insects, and wildlife.