Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,595 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Rollins were worth $990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROL. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,225,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 4,697.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 324,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,997,000 after buying an additional 317,353 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 350.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 368,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,118,000 after buying an additional 286,780 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,580,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 185.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 384,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,781,000 after purchasing an additional 249,860 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total value of $237,716.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,010.12. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,120 shares of company stock worth $1,209,993. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Rollins stock opened at $49.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.56 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.77. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.20 and a 1-year high of $52.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com cut Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.83.

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.