New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 489,574 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 123,199 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Rollins were worth $24,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROL. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Rollins by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 6,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Rollins by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Rollins by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 133,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 1.7% in the third quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 49,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total transaction of $237,716.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at $4,533,010.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Trading Up 0.4 %

ROL stock opened at $47.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.06 and a 1-year high of $51.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.30. The company has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.30 and a beta of 0.70.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued 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 return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.80.

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.