Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 109,205 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 858,641 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 109,205 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.18% of Rollins worth $39,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 721,467 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,491,000 after purchasing an additional 186,452 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Rollins in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rollins by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,748 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Rollins by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rollins by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,076 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE ROL traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $56.83. 150,424 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,736,707. Rollins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.00 and a 52-week high of $57.63. The firm has a market cap of $27.54 billion, a PE ratio of 59.24 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22. The company had revenue of $822.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $817.09 million. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROL. Barclays lifted their price objective on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rollins currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.57.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $99,469.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,131,937.94. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $509,866.20. The trade was a 25.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,987 shares of company stock valued at $480,725. 4.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.