Eventide Asset Management LLC Acquires 34,746 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,739,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,746 shares during the quarter. Rollins comprises 1.5% of Eventide Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $88,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROL. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Rollins in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Rollins by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Rollins by 10,233.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.83.

Rollins Stock 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.95. The company has a market cap of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.29 and a beta of 0.70. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.72 and a 12 month high of $52.16.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares in the company, valued at $4,274,129.97. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,120 shares of company stock worth $1,209,993. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rollins 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.