Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,046,844 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 322,610 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.63% of Rollins worth $141,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Rollins by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Rollins in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 9,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,259 shares of company stock worth $1,047,330 in the last 90 days. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rollins Stock Up 0.8 %

ROL stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,996,551. Rollins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.00 and a 52-week high of $57.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.74 and a beta of 0.79. 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 50-day simple moving average of $53.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.57.

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

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price objective on Rollins and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.57.

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.