National Pension Service Purchases 16,771 Shares of Rollins, Inc. $ROL

National Pension Service boosted its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 353.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,771 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Rollins were worth $1,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $218,593,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Rollins by 1,923.1% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,878,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,300 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Rollins by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,657,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649,676 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Rollins by 78.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,282,659 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $128,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,185 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 149.6% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,265,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,402,000 after purchasing an additional 758,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rollins in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $55.00 price target on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays raised shares of Rollins from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $72.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Rollins from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $72.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 7,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.26, for a total value of $476,853.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 600,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,959,099.74. This trade represents a 1.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 2,151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.26, for a total transaction of $136,072.26. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,161 shares in the company, valued at $3,805,784.86. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,545 shares of company stock worth $3,850,173. 4.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rollins Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:ROL opened at $62.97 on Wednesday. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.07 and a 1 year high of $63.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $30.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.1825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.22%.

Rollins Company Profile

Rollins, Inc (NYSE: ROL) is a provider of pest and termite control services operating through a network of subsidiaries and franchises. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company offers a broad range of pest management solutions for both residential and commercial customers, positioning itself as a specialist in protecting property and public health from pests and vectors.

Its service offerings include general pest control, termite inspection and treatment, bed bug remediation, mosquito and vector control, wildlife exclusion, and related specialty services.