9,027 Shares in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Purchased by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,027 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 171,858 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,385,000 after purchasing an additional 8,404 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Rollins by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Rollins by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,156,892 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $105,247,000 after buying an additional 172,009 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 58,958 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 4,974 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 17.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 28,827 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 4,283 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE ROL traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,986,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,933. Rollins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $52.16. The firm has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.42 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The company had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $911.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Rollins's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a positive change from Rollins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Rollins in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.69% of the company's stock.

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.