Paloma Partners Management Co Invests $988,000 in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 19,524 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Rollins during the third quarter worth about $1,257,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Rollins by 4,272.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 787 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Rollins by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,205,287 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $60,963,000 after purchasing an additional 70,910 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its position in Rollins by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 1,739,892 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $88,004,000 after purchasing an additional 34,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Rollins by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,277 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 4,858 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROL has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.83.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of ROL stock traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $49.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,389,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,705,141. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $52.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.73 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.05.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The company's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Rollins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.