Korea Investment CORP Buys 76,379 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 151.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 76,379 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Rollins were worth $5,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 10,393 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Rollins by 65.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after buying an additional 15,574 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 8.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 16.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,300,000 after buying an additional 9,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $99,469.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,173 shares in the company, valued at $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL stock opened at $54.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.31 and a beta of 0.78. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.72 and a 12 month high of $54.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.59.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ROL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.00.

Rollins 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.