DnB Asset Management AS Sells 1,111 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,111 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Rollins were worth $2,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rollins during the 4th quarter worth about $176,784,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at about $74,249,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the third quarter valued at about $28,980,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Rollins by 96.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,000,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,046,000 after acquiring an additional 490,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Rollins by 22.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882. Corporate insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE ROL opened at $54.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.31 and a beta of 0.78. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.72 and a 1-year high of $54.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.00 and a 200-day moving average of $49.59.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ROL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rollins presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

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.