Norges Bank Invests $176.78 Million in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,814,110 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $176,784,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.79% of Rollins as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter worth $5,259,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,176,043 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $100,860,000 after purchasing an additional 117,013 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Rollins by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Rollins by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 43,157 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,000,000 after buying an additional 8,596 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Rollins by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 32,313 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,498,000 after buying an additional 6,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE ROL traded down $3.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.15. The company had a trading volume of 4,217,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,548. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.71. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.72 and a fifty-two week high of $56.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32 and a beta of 0.78.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 41,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,131,937.94. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.83.

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.