B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Grows Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Rollins were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of Rollins by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Rollins by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 38,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,767,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rollins by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 37,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Down 6.7 %

ROL stock opened at $52.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.32 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.72 and a twelve month high of $56.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.71.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. 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 issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ROL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.83.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882 in the last three months. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.