Eastern Bank Decreases Stake in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Eastern Bank lowered its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 929 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Rollins were worth $2,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,736,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,876,815,000 after purchasing an additional 999,797 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 10,243,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $553,464,000 after purchasing an additional 38,503 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 196.2% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,542,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $199,937,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,592 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,917,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $157,659,000 after purchasing an additional 894,731 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,617,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $141,424,000 after purchasing an additional 98,607 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Performance

Rollins stock opened at $56.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.43 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.29 and a 200-day moving average of $56.42. Rollins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.34 and a 52 week high of $59.12.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $999.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.77 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 36.96% and a net margin of 13.70%.The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is 65.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ROL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Rollins in a report on Friday, September 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Rollins from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rollins in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research cut Rollins from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Rollins in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.18.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $1,741,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 632,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,723,475.08. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Company 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.