Retirement Systems of Alabama Raises Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 182,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,336 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Rollins were worth $7,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 138,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,055,000 after buying an additional 9,409 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 1,407,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,456,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 396,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,329,000 after acquiring an additional 4,654 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth about $1,159,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Rollins by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 157,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,876,000 after purchasing an additional 22,240 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ROL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rollins from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Rollins Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of Rollins stock opened at $46.12 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.42. Rollins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.19 and a 52-week high of $47.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a PE ratio of 51.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.65.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Rollins’s payout ratio is presently 67.42%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total value of $410,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,093,054.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total value of $410,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,054.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,233,510. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,824 shares of company stock worth $1,219,558 over the last three months. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.