Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Acquires 1,235 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 54.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,725,000 after purchasing an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Rollins by 22.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after acquiring an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 136.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 265,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,327,000 after acquiring an additional 153,437 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Rollins in the 4th quarter worth about $1,054,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In related news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $99,469.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,131,937.94. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882 over the last ninety days. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ROL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.83.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of ROL opened at $52.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Rollins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.72 and a 52 week high of $56.26. The stock has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32 and a beta of 0.78.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its 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, analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Rollins’s payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

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.