AlphaQuest LLC Buys 36,032 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 359.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,032 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $2,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,249,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 14.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $465,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,722 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,980,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Rollins by 96.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,000,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,046,000 after buying an additional 490,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Rollins by 22.6% during 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 during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rollins Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:ROL opened at $51.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.95 and a beta of 0.78. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.72 and a twelve month high of $53.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. As a group, analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

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.