O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 31.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,977 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rollins by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,275,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,821,000 after purchasing an additional 157,619 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at about $176,784,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 83,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Rollins by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,232,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,471,000 after acquiring an additional 164,720 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ROL opened at $50.69 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.71. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.72 and a 12-month high of $56.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.80 and a beta of 0.80.

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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.83.

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.