Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROL. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rollins during the 1st quarter worth about $1,590,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Rollins by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 5,029 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rollins by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 84,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,906,000 after buying an additional 7,532 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Rollins by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 602,860 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,896,000 after buying an additional 22,113 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROL opened at $50.63 on Monday. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.62 and a fifty-two week high of $52.16. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.74 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.84.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The business had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $911.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. Rollins’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ROL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company 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 started coverage on Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total transaction of $237,716.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,533,010.12. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % 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 in the last 90 days. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.