Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,282,508 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,557,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,282,508 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.77% of Rollins worth $395,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rollins in the 4th quarter worth approximately $176,784,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at $74,249,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,980,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Rollins by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,023,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $93,778,000 after buying an additional 493,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rollins by 96.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,000,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,046,000 after purchasing an additional 490,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Down 6.7 %

ROL opened at $52.15 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.72 and a 52 week high of $56.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.71. The company has a market capitalization of $25.29 billion, a PE ratio of 54.32 and a beta of 0.78.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. Analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at $509,866.20. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882 over the last 90 days. 4.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.83.

Rollins 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.