Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,746,487 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 26,239 shares during the period. Rollins comprises approximately 0.8% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 0.36% of Rollins worth $80,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROL. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Rollins by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rollins Price Performance

Rollins stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.80. 2,046,191 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,713,001. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.25 and a 12-month high of $56.26. The company has a market cap of $27.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.13 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Rollins's payout ratio is 68.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROL. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rollins currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 41,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,131,937.94. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,259 shares of company stock valued at $1,047,330 in the last ninety days. 4.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rollins 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.