Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Buys 8,000 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 256,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Rollins makes up about 2.4% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.05% of Rollins worth $11,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Rollins by 7.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,604 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,310 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 10,393 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the third quarter worth $3,041,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Rollins by 32.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 4,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Rollins by 11.4% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 34,824 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $99,469.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROL traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $53.48. 306,868 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,783,699. The company has a market cap of $25.94 billion, a PE ratio of 55.71 and a beta of 0.78. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.72 and a twelve month high of $54.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.56.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rollins presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.00.

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.