California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,291,353 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,167 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.27% of Rollins worth $59,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROL. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 54.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,725,000 after purchasing an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Rollins by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $115,323,000 after buying an additional 420,399 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Rollins by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 265,945 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,327,000 after buying an additional 153,437 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,054,000. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $99,469.38. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 41,173 shares in the company, valued at $2,131,937.94. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

ROL traded down $3.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,217,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,680,404. The stock has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50-day moving average price is $51.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.72 and a 12 month high of $56.26.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. Sell-side analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rollins has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.83.

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.