Man Group plc Invests $19.04 Million in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• Man Group plc acquired 456,229 Rollins shares worth approximately $19.04 million, giving it a 0.09% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 51.79% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Rollins has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $48.71, while several firms recently downgraded the stock, including Zacks Research to “Strong Sell.”
• Rollins shares opened at $35.92 after declining 2.1%, near their 12-month low. The company slightly missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates but reported 7.9% year-over-year revenue growth and declared a $0.1825 quarterly dividend.

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 456,229 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,043,000. Man Group plc owned about 0.09% of Rollins at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Rollins by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,282,523 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,297,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,241 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the second quarter worth $1,204,334,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,850,361 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $771,279,000 after purchasing an additional 575,946 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,163,847 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $608,256,000 after buying an additional 626,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,089,189 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $365,473,000 after buying an additional 461,869 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ROL. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Rollins from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $52.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Rollins from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.71.

Rollins Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of ROL opened at $35.92 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $40.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.75. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.81 and a 12-month high of $66.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.02). Rollins had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 13.55%.The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Rollins's payout ratio is currently 66.36%.

Rollins Company Profile

Rollins, Inc NYSE: ROL is a provider of pest and termite control services operating through a network of subsidiaries and franchises. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company offers a broad range of pest management solutions for both residential and commercial customers, positioning itself as a specialist in protecting property and public health from pests and vectors.

Its service offerings include general pest control, termite inspection and treatment, bed bug remediation, mosquito and vector control, wildlife exclusion, and related specialty services.

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