Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.56 Billion Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,736,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,502 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Rollins worth $1,563,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Rollins by 4,272.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 787 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Rollins by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $99,469.38. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ROL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rollins presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Rollins Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ROL stock opened at $53.82 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.72 and a 1-year high of $54.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $26.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.06 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.79 and a 200-day moving average of $49.55.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Rollins 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.