Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Acquires 3,667 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 31.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,667 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 61.3% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE:ROL opened at $57.78 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.81. The company has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.69. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.34 and a fifty-two week high of $58.65.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The firm had revenue of $822.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.09 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Rollins’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.54, for a total transaction of $108,613.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,150,103.12. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.77, for a total value of $2,270,800.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 662,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,623,011.79. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,842 shares of company stock worth $2,480,861. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price target on Rollins and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.75.

Rollins Company Profile

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.