Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,275,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 157,619 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.50% of Rollins worth $366,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Rollins by 185.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 384,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,781,000 after purchasing an additional 249,860 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,428,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rollins by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 661,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,484,000 after acquiring an additional 79,546 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,102,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 43,144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.67.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of ROL stock opened at $48.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.80 and a beta of 0.72. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.41 and a 12-month high of $52.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.15.

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

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

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.