Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 1,004 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank grew its stake in Rollins by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Rollins by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Rollins by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 37,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,752,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Rollins by 3.0% during the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 10,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Rollins by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ROL opened at $52.06 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.45. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.72 and a fifty-two week high of $53.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.23 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 (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. On average, analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $99,469.38. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,131,937.94. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Company 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.