Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,141 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $3,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROL. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth about $74,249,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 14.0% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $465,503,000 after buying an additional 1,154,722 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the third quarter worth about $43,225,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the third quarter worth about $28,980,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 96.1% in 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 buying an additional 490,183 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In related news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,866.20. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL opened at $51.80 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.72 and a 1-year high of $53.72. The stock has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. As a group, analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ROL shares. 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 research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Rollins 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.