Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $141.42 Million Stock Holdings in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has raised its stake in Rollins, Inc. by 3.9%, owning approximately 2.6 million shares valued at $141.42 million.
• Institutional investors hold 51.79% of Rollins' stock, with Vanguard Group owning the largest share at $1.88 billion.
• Rollins, Inc. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 65.35%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,617,940 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 98,607 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.54% of Rollins worth $141,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Rollins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,747,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 1st quarter valued at $64,636,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter valued at $50,161,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the first quarter worth $54,685,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 3.0% during 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 buying an additional 999,797 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 40,000 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.77, for a total value of $2,270,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 662,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,623,011.79. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. 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 report on Wednesday, June 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Rollins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays upped their target price on Rollins from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on Rollins in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.40.

Rollins Price Performance

ROL stock opened at $58.4330 on Thursday. 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's 50-day moving average is $56.81 and its 200-day moving average is $54.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.32 billion, a PE ratio of 57.86 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $999.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.77 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 36.96% and a net margin of 13.70%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Equities 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 given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.35%.

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.

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