Suncoast Equity Management Boosts Stock Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the quarter. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Rollins were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. Creative Planning increased its stake in Rollins by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after buying an additional 4,946 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 307.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 4,928 shares in the last quarter. Axecap Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the third quarter worth $943,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Rollins by 4,900.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,206,000 after acquiring an additional 81,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Rollins by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 17,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ROL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rollins presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE ROL opened at $51.32 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $48.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.08. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.88 and a fifty-two week high of $52.83. The company has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.45 and a beta of 0.76. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. Sell-side analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

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.