Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Sells 37,615 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. decreased its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,491 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 37,615 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. owned about 0.07% of Rollins worth $16,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rollins in the 4th quarter worth about $176,784,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,249,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,557,923 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $395,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,161,000. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rollins Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE ROL opened at $57.41 on Tuesday. Rollins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.00 and a 52 week high of $57.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.07. 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 firm has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a PE ratio of 59.80 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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business had revenue of $822.50 million for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,150,103.12. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,180 shares of company stock worth $1,155,943. 4.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Rollins

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.

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