Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 352,275 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 34,152 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.07% of Rollins worth $16,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rollins during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $176,784,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Rollins by 389.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,770,131 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $128,396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,203,859 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at $74,249,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Rollins by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,557,923 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $395,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments purchased a new stake in Rollins during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,161,000. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE ROL traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $56.19. The stock had a trading volume of 725,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,716,249. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.59 and a beta of 0.79. 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 $45.00 and a one year high of $57.43.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $822.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $817.09 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. Rollins's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROL. Barclays boosted their price target on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 target price on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.54, for a total transaction of $108,613.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,150,103.12. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the company'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 approximately $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,180 shares of company stock worth $1,155,943 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

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.