Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stock Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Rollins were worth $1,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Rollins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at $509,866.20. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,259 shares of company stock valued at $1,047,330. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROL. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.83.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of ROL stock opened at $55.30 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.60 and a beta of 0.80. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.72 and a 12 month high of $56.26.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released 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 return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

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.