Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys New Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in Rollins in the third quarter valued at $43,225,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Rollins by 4,697.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 324,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,997,000 after purchasing an additional 317,353 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,072,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 350.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 368,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,118,000 after buying an additional 286,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at $13,580,000. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rollins Stock Performance

ROL opened at $49.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a PE ratio of 51.99 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.64. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.03 and a 1 year high of $52.16.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The business had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.83.

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.