21,000 Shares in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Acquired by Board of the Pension Protection Fund

Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 21,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $973,000. Rollins makes up about 1.1% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROL. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Rollins by 4,272.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 787 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Rollins by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays started coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Rollins in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.83.

Rollins Stock Performance

ROL traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,725,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,573,566. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $52.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average price is $48.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.98.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $911.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This is an increase from Rollins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. 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.