Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys New Position in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired 935,539 shares of Rollins, Inc., valued at approximately $50.5 million, representing about 0.19% ownership in the company.
• Rollins reported earnings of $0.30 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue growth of 12.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.2% based on the current share price.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 935,539 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $50,547,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Rollins at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,353,000 after buying an additional 2,574 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 56.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,254 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 2,254 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the first quarter valued at $225,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the first quarter valued at $464,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 305.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 159,741 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,631,000 after buying an additional 120,294 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 30,000 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman owned 632,727 shares in the company, valued at $36,723,475.08. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $63.00) on shares of Rollins in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Zacks Research lowered Rollins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Rollins from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Argus assumed coverage on Rollins in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Rollins from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.40.

Rollins Trading Down 1.6%

Rollins stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,016,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,819,771. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a PE ratio of 55.84 and a beta of 0.69. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.34 and a 12 month high of $59.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $999.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $988.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued 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 is Monday, August 11th. Rollins's payout ratio is 65.35%.

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.