Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Acquired by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,154,722 shares during the period. Rollins makes up approximately 4.9% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $465,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rollins in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Rollins in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Rollins by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Rollins by 10,233.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.83.

Rollins Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE ROL opened at $50.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 52.74 and a beta of 0.70. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.62 and a fifty-two week high of $52.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm’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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total transaction of $237,716.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,010.12. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,120 shares of company stock worth $1,209,993. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.