Rollins, Inc. $ROL Holdings Increased by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,581,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,500 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.33% of Rollins worth $47,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 137.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in Rollins during the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,000. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Rollins from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Rollins from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $52.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus downgraded Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Rollins from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.25.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROL opened at $37.40 on Wednesday. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.28 and a twelve month high of $66.14. The firm has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.51 and a 200-day moving average of $46.73.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.34. Rollins had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 39.43%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1825. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Rollins’s payout ratio is presently 66.97%.

Rollins Company Profile

Rollins, Inc is a provider of pest and termite control services for residential and commercial customers. The company offers protection against common pests such as ants, cockroaches, rodents, termites, mosquitoes and bedbugs, along with wildlife control and other specialty services.

Rollins serves customers through a portfolio of regional and international brands, including Orkin, the company’s best-known pest control business; HomeTeam Pest Defense; Western Pest Services; Critter Control; and other local and specialized operations.