NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 45,783 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 45,783 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $12,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 43.9% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 4,272.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 787 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $49.50. 105,746 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,699,511. The company has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 51.91 and a beta of 0.72. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.41 and a 12-month high of $52.16. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

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.