Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,928 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $1,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $393,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Rollins in the third quarter worth $204,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Rollins by 3.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 147,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,439,000 after purchasing an additional 5,236 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Rollins by 7.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 18,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Rollins by 7.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 46,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after buying an additional 3,366 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.00.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL opened at $51.44 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.72 and a twelve month high of $53.72. The company has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.59 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.75 and a 200 day moving average of $49.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

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.