Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 1,179 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,179 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV raised its position in Rollins by 3.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 147,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,439,000 after purchasing an additional 5,236 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rollins by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 553,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,014,000 after buying an additional 159,141 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Rollins in the third quarter valued at about $393,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Rollins by 23.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the sale, the insider now owns 84,653 shares in the company, valued at $4,274,129.97. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE ROL opened at $49.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.99 and a beta of 0.70. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.03 and a twelve month high of $52.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.70.

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

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rollins has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.83.

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.