Farringdon Capital Ltd. Takes Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,046 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Rollins by 54.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,725,000 after purchasing an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Rollins by 22.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Rollins by 136.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 265,945 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,327,000 after purchasing an additional 153,437 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rollins during the fourth quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Rollins during the fourth quarter worth $1,054,000. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $99,469.38. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 41,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,131,937.94. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the business'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 transaction of $171,194.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,259 shares of company stock worth $1,047,330. 4.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rollins Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE ROL traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $56.11. 1,643,192 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,982,362. The business's 50 day moving average is $52.72 and its 200-day moving average is $50.10. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.18 and a 12-month high of $56.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.45 and a beta of 0.80. 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 (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $822.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.09 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ROL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.50.

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.