Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Sold by Patten Group Inc.

Patten Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,117 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in Rollins by 14.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $465,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,722 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Rollins by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,275,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,821,000 after purchasing an additional 157,619 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Rollins by 22.6% during 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Rollins by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,251,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $104,347,000 after purchasing an additional 83,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Rollins by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,232,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $103,471,000 after purchasing an additional 164,720 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of Rollins 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE ROL opened at $52.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.31. 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 one year low of $41.72 and a one year high of $53.72. The firm has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.68 and a beta of 0.76.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

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.