Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,519,333 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 260,223 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.52% of Rollins worth $116,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROL. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Rollins by 54.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,725,000 after purchasing an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $115,323,000 after buying an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Rollins by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 265,945 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,327,000 after acquiring an additional 153,437 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rollins during the 4th quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Rollins during the fourth quarter worth about $1,054,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:ROL traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 486,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,997,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $27.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.88 and a beta of 0.80. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.37. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.85 and a twelve month high of $57.20.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business had revenue of $822.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $817.09 million. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $99,469.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,259 shares of company stock valued at $1,047,330. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 target price on shares of Rollins and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.57.

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.