Eventide Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Rollins, Inc. by 4.4%, owning 594,299 shares worth approximately $32 million after purchasing an additional 24,848 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Wellington Management Group LLP, have also significantly raised their stakes in Rollins during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Rollins recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%, with the payment scheduled for September 10th.

Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 594,299 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 24,848 shares during the quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Rollins worth $32,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Security Financial Services INC. grew its position in Rollins by 3.2% during the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 5,711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,305 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 13,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rollins Trading Up 1.1%

ROL stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $57.12. 1,248,285 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,827,889. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.87 and a 200-day moving average of $55.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a PE ratio of 56.56 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.68. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $999.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.77 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 36.96% and a net margin of 13.70%.Rollins's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Rollins from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research cut Rollins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Argus began coverage on Rollins in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $1,741,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman 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 at the SEC website. 4.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.