Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Stock Holdings in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Rollins, Inc. by 90.6%, selling 755,485 shares and leaving it with 78,404 shares worth approximately $4.24 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Rollins, with Landscape Capital Management boosting its stake by 107.4% and OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increasing its stake by 245.0% in the first quarter.
• Rollins recently reported a quarterly earnings of $0.30 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, and has a current dividend yield of 1.2% with a payout ratio of 65.35%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 90.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,404 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 755,485 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Rollins were worth $4,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROL. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 66,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 588,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,295,000 after purchasing an additional 43,820 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Rollins by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 19,966 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $925,000 after buying an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 927,703 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,999,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 493.0% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 233,726 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,833,000 after buying an additional 194,309 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROL has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (up from $63.00) on shares of Rollins in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research cut Rollins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on Rollins in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.40.

Rollins Stock Up 0.5%

ROL traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $56.82. 586,641 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,823,476. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.87 and a 200 day moving average of $55.55. The firm has a market cap of $27.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.24 and a beta of 0.69. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.34 and a 12-month high of $59.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $999.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.77 million. Rollins had a net margin of 13.70% and a return on equity of 36.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rollins's payout ratio is presently 65.35%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 30,000 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $1,741,200.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 632,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,723,475.08. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

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.