Appleton Partners Inc. MA Buys 27,820 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 129.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 49,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,820 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Rollins were worth $2,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 valued at $465,503,000 after buying an additional 1,154,722 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $366,821,000 after acquiring an additional 157,619 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Rollins by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after acquiring an additional 420,399 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rollins by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,167,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,655,000 after purchasing an additional 31,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 1,739,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,004,000 after purchasing an additional 34,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of Rollins stock opened at $50.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.25 billion, a PE ratio of 52.17 and a beta of 0.76. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $52.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.92.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Rollins in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Rollins Company 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.