Axecap Investments LLC Purchases New Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Axecap Investments LLC bought a new stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 18,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $943,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rollins by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,438,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,500,927,000 after buying an additional 206,873 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Rollins by 1.5% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 10,023,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $489,036,000 after buying an additional 148,316 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Rollins by 14.5% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,826,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $130,765,000 after buying an additional 357,535 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Rollins by 4.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,825,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $137,860,000 after buying an additional 133,100 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Rollins by 8.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,156,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,247,000 after buying an additional 172,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE ROL opened at $49.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.90 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.98 and its 200-day moving average is $48.14. Rollins, Inc. has a one year low of $32.94 and a one year high of $51.96.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. Rollins had a return on equity of 40.10% and a net margin of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $891.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $895.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Rollins’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ROL. StockNews.com raised Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.80.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total value of $224,084.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,999.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total value of $224,084.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,999.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,056 shares of company stock valued at $698,347. 4.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.