Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 44,299 Shares of Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Rollins by 892.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 44,299 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 49,261 shares valued at about $2.96 million.
• Rollins reported quarterly EPS of $0.24, matching estimates, while revenue came in above expectations at $906.42 million, up 10.2% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1825 per share, payable June 10, for an annualized yield of about 1.4%.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 892.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,261 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 44,299 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Rollins were worth $2,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Rollins by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Rollins by 1.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,874 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC grew its position in shares of Rollins by 5.4% during the second quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 3.4% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,242 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Rollins by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 12,812 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ROL opened at $53.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $25.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.07, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.79. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.95 and a 1 year high of $66.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.31.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.24. The business had revenue of $906.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $895.17 million. Rollins had a net margin of 13.77% and a return on equity of 38.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.1825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.97%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 14,201 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.36, for a total value of $842,971.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 55,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,322,794.72. This trade represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $66.00 price objective on Rollins and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Rollins from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $67.00 price objective on Rollins and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Rollins from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.20.

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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