Rollins, Inc. $ROL Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,781 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Rollins were worth $14,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rollins by 56.4% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Rollins during the 1st quarter worth about $464,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Rollins during the 2nd quarter worth about $77,000. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new position in Rollins during the 1st quarter worth about $27,398,000. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Rollins during the 2nd quarter worth about $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $1,741,200.00. Following the transaction, the chairman 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ROL shares. Zacks Research lowered Rollins from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Argus assumed coverage on Rollins in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Rollins in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Rollins in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.18.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROL opened at $56.94 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.34 and a 1-year high of $59.12. The company has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.37 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

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

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.