First Horizon Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 4.1% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the first quarter worth $493,000. Shell Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Rollins in the first quarter valued at $376,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rollins in the first quarter valued at $1,590,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Rollins by 1.8% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 161,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,488,000 after buying an additional 2,890 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,129.97. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,120 shares of company stock worth $1,209,993 over the last quarter. 4.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rollins Stock Up 2.0 %

ROL opened at $50.63 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.62 and a 1 year high of $52.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 52.74 and a beta of 0.70.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. Rollins’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.