1,601,930 Shares in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,601,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $74,249,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 37,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 10,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Rollins Trading Up 0.2 %

ROL opened at $51.80 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.95 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Rollins, Inc. has a one year low of $41.72 and a one year high of $53.72.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. Analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is 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.