Baird Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Rollins, Inc. by 13.3%, selling 164,378 shares and now holding 1,067,779 shares, valued at approximately $57.69 million.
• Rollins reported a 12.1% increase in revenue for the quarter, totaling $999.53 million, and beat earnings estimates with an EPS of $0.30.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, which will be paid on September 10th, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,067,779 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 164,378 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Rollins worth $57,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rollins by 3.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,736,543 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,876,815,000 after acquiring an additional 999,797 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 0.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,046,844 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $141,221,000 after purchasing an additional 322,610 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Rollins by 44.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,917,984 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $157,659,000 after buying an additional 894,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Rollins by 3.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,617,940 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $141,424,000 after acquiring an additional 98,607 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 30,000 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 632,727 shares in the company, valued at $36,723,475.08. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROL traded down $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.24. 1,222,072 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,839,630. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.34 and a 1-year high of $59.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $27.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.68 and a beta of 0.69. The business's 50 day moving average is $56.84 and its 200-day moving average is $55.40.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.70% and a return on equity of 36.96%. The company had revenue of $999.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $988.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rollins's payout ratio is currently 65.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus assumed coverage on Rollins in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (up from $63.00) on shares of Rollins in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rollins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Rollins from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Rollins from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Six 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.40.

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.