29,967 Shares in Rollins, Inc. $ROL Purchased by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 29,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,799,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ROL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter worth about $244,669,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,282,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,297,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,241 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 11,772.1% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,084,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $65,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,264 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 149.6% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,265,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,402,000 after acquiring an additional 758,462 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,735,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $164,169,000 after acquiring an additional 726,017 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE ROL opened at $47.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.47. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.43 and a 12 month high of $66.14. The company has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.73.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. Rollins had a net margin of 13.77% and a return on equity of 38.37%. The business had revenue of $906.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $895.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.1825 dividend. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Rollins’s payout ratio is presently 66.97%.

Key Rollins News

Here are the key news stories impacting Rollins this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity pointed to increased bullish interest, with traders buying 2,830 call options on Rollins, far above normal volume. This can signal speculation that shares may move higher.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and Texas Governor Greg Abbott stepping up the federal and state response to the spreading screwworm outbreak, which keeps the issue in focus for investors watching Rollins’ agricultural pest-control exposure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rollins also issued public warnings that ranchers face a “really scary time” as the flesh-eating pest resurfaces in Texas cattle, reinforcing the urgency of the response but not yet providing a clear earnings update.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several additional articles reference “Rollins” in connection with WWE’s Seth Rollins; these are unrelated to Rollins, Inc. and should not be considered a fundamental driver for the stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ROL shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Rollins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $66.00 price target on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Rollins from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Rollins from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Rollins 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.