Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 32.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,024 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Rollins were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROL. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 14.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $465,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,722 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in Rollins in the third quarter worth approximately $43,225,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Rollins by 4,697.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 324,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,997,000 after buying an additional 317,353 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Rollins by 350.8% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 368,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,118,000 after buying an additional 286,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rollins in the second quarter worth approximately $13,580,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,120 shares of company stock worth $1,209,993 in the last quarter. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rollins Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ROL opened at $51.16 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a P/E 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $911.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ROL. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.83.

About Rollins

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.