National Bank of Canada FI Sells 13,281 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,281 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Rollins were worth $7,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rollins by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 213,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,916,000 after purchasing an additional 39,985 shares during the period. Family Legacy Inc. purchased a new stake in Rollins in the fourth quarter worth about $334,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its position in Rollins by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 13,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Rollins by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,023,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $93,778,000 after acquiring an additional 493,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 16,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rollins Stock Down 6.7 %

NYSE:ROL opened at $52.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.69. The firm has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.32 and a beta of 0.78. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.72 and a fifty-two week high of $56.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ROL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882. Insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

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.