MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Rollins by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,282,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,297,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,241 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Rollins by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,274,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,999,000 after purchasing an additional 172,303 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Rollins by 0.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,885,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $169,522,000 after purchasing an additional 15,133 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Rollins by 6.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,151,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $126,383,000 after purchasing an additional 130,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Rollins by 3.8% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,048,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $120,350,000 after purchasing an additional 74,473 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 14,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.36, for a total transaction of $842,971.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 55,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,322,794.72. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of Rollins stock opened at $53.48 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.35. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.95 and a 12 month high of $66.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.07, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.37% and a net margin of 13.77%.The business had revenue of $906.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $895.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROL. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on Rollins in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Rollins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Rollins from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Rollins from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rollins presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.20.

Rollins Company Profile

Rollins, Inc (NYSE: ROL) is a provider of pest and termite control services operating through a network of subsidiaries and franchises. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company offers a broad range of pest management solutions for both residential and commercial customers, positioning itself as a specialist in protecting property and public health from pests and vectors.

Its service offerings include general pest control, termite inspection and treatment, bed bug remediation, mosquito and vector control, wildlife exclusion, and related specialty services.