Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 25,288 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 168.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,288 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $1,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth $588,000. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rollins in the 4th quarter valued at about $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 4,938 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,330 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the company’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $99,469.38. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ROL opened at $53.04 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.72 and a 1 year high of $54.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a PE ratio of 55.25 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.57.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.