Barclays PLC Cuts Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Barclays PLC reduced its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 589,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 132,056 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.12% of Rollins worth $27,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,557,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $395,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,508 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,267,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $197,778,000 after buying an additional 617,876 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Rollins during the 4th quarter worth $176,784,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after buying an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rollins by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,251,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $104,347,000 after acquiring an additional 83,326 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE ROL opened at $55.80 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.19 and a 1-year high of $56.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.13 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.99.

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%. Equities analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,259 shares of company stock valued at $1,047,330 over the last three months. 4.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ROL. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.50.

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.