Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 266 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Rollins were worth $895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of Rollins by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Rollins by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Rollins by 3.0% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 10,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Rollins by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROL. Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.00.

Rollins Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Rollins stock opened at $51.36 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.50 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.15. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.72 and a fifty-two week high of $52.83.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.