USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 15,659 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,190 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 15,659 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Rollins were worth $3,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.54, for a total transaction of $108,613.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,150,103.12. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,602 shares in the company, 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 a total of 8,987 shares of company stock worth $480,725 in the last quarter. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ROL shares. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price target on Rollins and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays raised their price target on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.57.

Rollins Price Performance

NYSE:ROL traded down $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $56.67. The stock had a trading volume of 388,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,737,800. The company has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.99 and a beta of 0.79. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.00 and a 1-year high of $57.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.44.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

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

Rollins Company 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.