Allstate Corp Invests $376,000 in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROL. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Rollins by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after buying an additional 420,399 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 153,437 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter worth $1,054,000. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ROL. UBS Group raised their target price on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882 over the last ninety days. 4.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rollins Stock Up 0.8 %

Rollins stock opened at $54.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a PE ratio of 57.05 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.24 and its 200 day moving average is $49.65. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.72 and a 12-month high of $54.85.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

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.