Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $225,000 in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,159 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,557,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $395,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,508 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,267,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $197,778,000 after acquiring an additional 617,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth $176,784,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,046,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $141,221,000 after acquiring an additional 322,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 389.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,770,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $128,396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,203,859 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Stock Down 0.8%

ROL stock opened at $56.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Rollins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.34 and a 52-week high of $58.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.18 and a beta of 0.77.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The company had revenue of $822.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $817.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In related news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.54, for a total value of $108,613.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,150,103.12. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.77, for a total transaction of $2,270,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 662,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,623,011.79. The trade was a 5.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,842 shares of company stock worth $2,480,861 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 target price on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.38.

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.