AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 9,816 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 958,170 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,816 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.20% of Rollins worth $44,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 54.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,725,000 after acquiring an additional 61,475 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Rollins by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 265,945 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,327,000 after purchasing an additional 153,437 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rollins during the fourth quarter worth approximately $262,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,054,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Rollins by 169.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,658 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 1,672 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.81, for a total value of $101,448.01. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,388.40. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,259 shares of company stock worth $1,047,330 in the last 90 days. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of Rollins stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $57.34. 429,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,000. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.76 and a 200-day moving average of $50.57. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.00 and a 1 year high of $57.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $27.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.74 and a beta of 0.79.

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 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 business had revenue of $822.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $817.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROL shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 target price on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.57.

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.