Citigroup Inc. Purchases 628 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 337,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.07% of Rollins worth $17,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,225,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Rollins by 4,697.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 324,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,997,000 after buying an additional 317,353 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Rollins by 350.8% during 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. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rollins in the second quarter worth about $13,580,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Rollins by 185.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 384,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,781,000 after acquiring an additional 249,860 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares in the company, valued at $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,120 shares of company stock valued at $1,209,993. Corporate insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Down 0.8 %

Rollins stock opened at $51.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.72 and a 1-year high of $52.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.29 and a beta of 0.70.

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). The company had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. Rollins’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research 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, Rollins currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.83.

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.