Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,006 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,006 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Rollins were worth $691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 54.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,725,000 after buying an additional 61,475 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,102,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Rollins by 22.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Rollins by 136.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 265,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,327,000 after purchasing an additional 153,437 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rollins Price Performance

NYSE ROL opened at $52.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $25.40 billion, a PE ratio of 54.55 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.48. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.72 and a 52-week high of $53.72.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 1.26%. Rollins’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ROL shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the business’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 transaction of $675,217.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882 in the last ninety days. 4.69% of the stock is owned by 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.