Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 143.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 73,661 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $5,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Rollins by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,725,000 after buying an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Rollins by 136.4% during 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 buying an additional 153,437 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter worth about $262,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter worth about $1,054,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 169.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of ROL opened at $56.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.06 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.00 and a 1 year high of $57.43.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $817.09 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. Rollins’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rollins news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $509,866.20. The trade was a 25.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,259 shares of company stock valued at $1,047,330 over the last quarter. 4.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price objective on Rollins and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.57.

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.