Markel Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,453,275 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Rollins worth $73,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rollins by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,438,440 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,500,927,000 after buying an additional 206,873 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rollins by 1.5% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 10,023,281 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $489,036,000 after purchasing an additional 148,316 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Rollins by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,826,135 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $130,765,000 after purchasing an additional 357,535 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 4.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,825,569 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,860,000 after buying an additional 133,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Rollins by 8.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,156,892 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $105,247,000 after buying an additional 172,009 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Stock Up 2.3 %

Rollins stock traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,466,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,706,984. The company has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.28 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.44. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.61 and a fifty-two week high of $51.96.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $911.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a boost from Rollins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Rollins's payout ratio is 68.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate 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.