Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Acquired by Dudley & Shanley Inc.

Dudley & Shanley Inc. grew its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 455,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares during the period. Rollins makes up approximately 3.3% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $21,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Rollins by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 399,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,202,000 after buying an additional 13,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the third quarter valued at $1,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE ROL traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.24. 389,260 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 709,185. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.41 and a fifty-two week high of $52.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 48.17 and a beta of 0.72.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In related news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ROL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 27th. Barclays assumed coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.40.

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.