Trexquant Investment LP Raises Stock Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 331,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,109 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.07% of Rollins worth $15,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Rollins by 54.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,725,000 after acquiring an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 265,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,327,000 after purchasing an additional 153,437 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rollins during the fourth quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at $1,054,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,866.20. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $99,469.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882. Insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Rollins Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ROL opened at $54.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.62. The stock has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a PE ratio of 56.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Rollins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.72 and a 52-week high of $54.43.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. Research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Rollins’s payout ratio is 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.