Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 999,797 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Rollins, Inc. by acquiring an additional 999,797 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 34.7 million shares, valued at nearly $1.88 billion.
• Rollins reported a quarterly revenue of $999.53 million, exceeding analysts' estimates, along with earnings per share of $0.30, slightly above the expected $0.29.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, with a payout ratio of 65.35%, indicating consistent returns for its investors.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,736,543 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 999,797 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.17% of Rollins worth $1,876,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Security Financial Services INC. grew its position in Rollins by 3.2% in 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 during the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rollins by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,195 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $57.91. 1,563,752 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,697,422. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.34 and a fifty-two week high of $59.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $56.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.63. The company has a market cap of $28.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.33 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. Rollins had a net margin of 13.70% and a return on equity of 36.96%. The company had revenue of $999.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Rollins's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rollins news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 40,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 662,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,623,011.79. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ROL. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Argus initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.40.

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.