Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,147 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,325 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Rollins were worth $10,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Rollins by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,826,135 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $130,765,000 after buying an additional 357,535 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 185.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 384,935 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,781,000 after buying an additional 249,860 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Rollins by 4,697.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 324,109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,997,000 after buying an additional 317,353 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 328.2% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 38,268 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 29,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rollins in the second quarter worth about $13,580,000. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ROL shares. Barclays initiated coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.83.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 84,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.69% of the company's stock.

Rollins Trading Up 1.1 %

Rollins stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.14. The company had a trading volume of 478,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,703,252. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.38. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.61 and a 1 year high of $51.96.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $911.15 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from Rollins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins's payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

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.