Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 1,601,930 Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,601,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $74,249,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.33% of Rollins at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 54.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,725,000 after acquiring an additional 61,475 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Rollins during the third quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Rollins during the third quarter worth approximately $5,102,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Rollins by 13.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 661,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,484,000 after purchasing an additional 79,546 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in 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 during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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. 4.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of ROL opened at $51.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $49.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.72 and a 1 year high of $53.72.

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

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

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.