Axa S.A. Sells 211,255 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Axa S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 69.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 211,255 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $4,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in Rollins by 61.2% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 55,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 21,104 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Rollins in the 2nd quarter worth $3,788,000. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Rollins by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 64,864 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,165,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Rollins by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 239,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,932,000 after purchasing an additional 29,157 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Rollins by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total transaction of $224,084.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,999.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total transaction of $224,084.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,999.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total transaction of $237,716.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,010.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROL opened at $49.95 on Monday. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.19 and a 1 year high of $51.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.37 and its 200 day moving average is $47.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.12 and a beta of 0.70.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. Rollins had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 40.10%. The company had revenue of $891.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $895.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Rollins’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 67.42%.

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.