Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia significantly increased its holdings in Rollins, Inc. by 96% during the first quarter, owning 73,762 shares valued at $3.985 million after buying an additional 36,121 shares.
• Insider sales at Rollins included transactions by Chairman John F. Wilson and insider Thomas D. Tesh, who sold shares totaling over $4 million in the last ninety days.
• Rollins beat earnings expectations with $0.30 EPS for the last quarter and saw a revenue increase of 12.1% year-on-year, prompting several analysts to raise their price targets on the stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 96.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,762 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 36,121 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Rollins were worth $3,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 961.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 73.0% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 806 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 61.3% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in Rollins in the 1st quarter worth $63,000. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROL traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.66. 966,148 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,894,708. The company's 50-day moving average is $56.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.07 and a beta of 0.69. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.34 and a 1 year high of $59.10.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $999.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $988.77 million. Rollins had a net margin of 13.70% and a return on equity of 36.96%. The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 30,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 632,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,723,475.08. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROL. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price target on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Rollins from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Rollins from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Rollins from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.40.

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.