Advisors Preferred LLC Takes Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 12,964 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,557,923 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $395,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,508 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Rollins by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,267,060 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $197,778,000 after acquiring an additional 617,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 4th quarter valued at about $176,784,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,046,844 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $141,221,000 after purchasing an additional 322,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 389.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,770,131 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $128,396,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $36,723,475.08. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.54, for a total transaction of $108,613.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,028 shares in the company, valued at $2,150,103.12. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,921 shares of company stock valued at $4,120,613 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (up from $63.00) on shares of Rollins in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.40.

Rollins Price Performance

ROL stock traded up $0.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.03. 2,051,150 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,921,432. Rollins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.34 and a 52 week high of $58.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.46 and a beta of 0.75.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Rollins had a net margin of 13.70% and a return on equity of 37.72%. The business had revenue of $999.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Rollins's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

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.