Blueshift Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 80.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25,535 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the third quarter worth $28,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Rollins in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Rollins during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 10,233.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,653 shares in the company, valued at $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,120 shares of company stock valued at $1,209,993 over the last quarter. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.83.

Rollins Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ROL stock opened at $51.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.95. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.72 and a 1-year high of $52.16. The company has a market cap of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.29 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

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.