Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Acquired by AdvisorShares Investments LLC

AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,126 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,310 shares during the period. Rollins makes up approximately 1.4% of AdvisorShares Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. AdvisorShares Investments LLC's holdings in Rollins were worth $7,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Rollins in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.57.

Rollins Stock Performance

ROL traded up $0.63 on Friday, reaching $56.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,522,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,550. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.48 billion, a PE ratio of 59.06 and a beta of 0.80. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.85 and a 1 year high of $57.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $822.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,259 shares of company stock valued at $1,047,330. Insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

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.