CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 11,372 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co reduced its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 252,778 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,372 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.05% of Rollins worth $11,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rollins in the fourth quarter worth $176,784,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Rollins by 389.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,770,131 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $128,396,000 after buying an additional 2,203,859 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Rollins during the 4th quarter worth $74,249,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rollins by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,557,923 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $395,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Rollins by 9,005.6% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 833,889 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,651,000 after acquiring an additional 824,731 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROL. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price target on shares of Rollins and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.57.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE:ROL traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,571,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,707,916. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $52.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.18. The stock has a market cap of $26.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.56 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.69. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.29 and a twelve month high of $56.31.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business had revenue of $822.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.09 million. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,259 shares of company stock valued at $1,047,330. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.