Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 399,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,697 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Rollins worth $20,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 10,233.3% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Rollins by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,194,000 after acquiring an additional 26,265 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Rollins by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 23,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Rollins during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $393,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 147.1% in the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 23,933 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 84,653 shares in the company, valued at $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL opened at $46.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.23. The stock has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a PE ratio of 48.80 and a beta of 0.72. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.41 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

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.