Insider Selling: Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Major Shareholder Sells $735,730.00 in Stock

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Rollins Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ROL opened at $49.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.70 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.80. 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 $39.62 and a 12-month high of $52.16.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 company’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROL shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rollins

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the first quarter valued at about $252,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Rollins during the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Rollins by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,438,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,500,927,000 after purchasing an additional 206,873 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rollins by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Rollins by 501.9% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 23,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 19,596 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.