Quest Partners LLC Purchases 9,358 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 1,394.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,358 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 10,233.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rollins in the third quarter worth $71,000. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,129.97. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,120 shares of company stock worth $1,209,993. 4.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.83.

Rollins Price Performance

NYSE ROL opened at $50.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.74 and a beta of 0.70. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.62 and a 12 month high of $52.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The firm had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

About Rollins

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.