Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 313 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rollins by 1.5% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 148,316 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,825,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $137,860,000 after acquiring an additional 133,100 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Rollins by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,156,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,247,000 after acquiring an additional 172,009 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 1,453,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,507,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,266,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,084,000 after purchasing an additional 30,568 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.83.

Rollins Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ROL opened at $51.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.92. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.72 and a fifty-two week high of $52.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.99 billion, a PE ratio of 53.74 and a beta of 0.70.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $911.15 million. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the sale, the insider now owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,120 shares of company stock valued at $1,209,993. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

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.