Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) is Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 8.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,300,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Rollins accounts for approximately 2.3% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Rollins were worth $64,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROL. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 10,233.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,129.97. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,120 shares of company stock worth $1,209,993. 4.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.83.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE ROL opened at $49.50 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.77. The company has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 51.56 and a beta of 0.70. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.20 and a 1-year high of $52.16.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced 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). Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The firm had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Rollins Company Profile

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.