Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,807 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 16,040 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Rollins were worth $1,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 14.0% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $465,503,000 after buying an additional 1,154,722 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Rollins during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,225,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Rollins by 440.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 261,049 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,737,000 after acquiring an additional 212,789 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Rollins by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,156,892 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $105,247,000 after acquiring an additional 172,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 553,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,014,000 after purchasing an additional 159,141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $48.56. 2,311,618 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,695,104. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.35 and a 200-day moving average of $49.22. Rollins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $52.16. The stock has a market cap of $23.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $911.15 million. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.165 dividend. This is a positive change from Rollins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

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.