Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Acquired by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 14.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $465,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,722 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rollins by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,275,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,821,000 after purchasing an additional 157,619 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 22.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,251,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $104,347,000 after purchasing an additional 83,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Rollins by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,232,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $103,471,000 after purchasing an additional 164,720 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Price Performance

NYSE:ROL opened at $51.92 on Wednesday. Rollins, Inc. has a one year low of $41.72 and a one year high of $53.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.09 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.39.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. Research analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $99,469.38. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882 in the last ninety days. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROL has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

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.