Eventide Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,739,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,746 shares during the quarter. Rollins accounts for 1.5% of Eventide Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned 0.36% of Rollins worth $88,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Rollins by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 4,858 shares during the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the third quarter valued at about $271,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Rollins by 14.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co bought a new stake in Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Rollins by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,300,000 after buying an additional 9,380 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,120 shares of company stock valued at $1,209,993 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROL opened at $51.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.95. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.72 and a 1-year high of $52.16. The firm has a market cap of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.29 and a beta of 0.70.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $911.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

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.