Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 9,027 Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROLFree Report) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 9,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROL. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Rollins during the third quarter worth about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Rollins by 4,272.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 787 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Rollins by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rollins in the third quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL stock opened at $48.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.96. The stock has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a PE ratio of 50.42 and a beta of 0.75. Rollins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.41 and a 52-week high of $52.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Rollins (NYSE:ROLGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 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 company had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ROL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Rollins in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Rollins

Rollins Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Rollins (NYSE:ROL)

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