IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 4.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 55,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Rollins were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Rollins by 14.9% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,430,000 after acquiring an additional 15,393 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,617,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 171,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,498,000 after buying an additional 25,709 shares during the period. Crown Oak Advisors LLC bought a new position in Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,547,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Rollins in the third quarter worth approximately $98,000. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rollins from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Rollins Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ROL stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.90. 1,688,286 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,861,357. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.63. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.19 and a 12-month high of $47.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.73% and a net margin of 13.94%. The business had revenue of $748.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $230,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,575,422.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Rollins news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 2,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.48, for a total transaction of $116,395.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,068.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $230,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,575,422.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,824 shares of company stock worth $994,558 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

About Rollins

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.