Citigroup Inc. Grows Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 71.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,863 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 160,917 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.08% of Rollins worth $20,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROL. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Rollins during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 961.4% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 806 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 61.3% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in Rollins during the 1st quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.77, for a total transaction of $2,270,800.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 662,727 shares in the company, valued at $37,623,011.79. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.33. 1,150,260 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,275. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.76 and a 200-day moving average of $54.80. The firm has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.76 and a beta of 0.69. Rollins, Inc. has a one year low of $45.34 and a one year high of $59.10.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The company 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%. Rollins's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROL. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report 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 report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price target on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up from $63.00) on shares of Rollins in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.