HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,137 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Rollins were worth $1,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Rollins in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 4,272.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 787 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Rollins by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Rollins by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of ROL stock traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.04. 1,798,045 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,591. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.72 and a 1 year high of $54.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a PE ratio of 55.25 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $50.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.55.

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Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. Research analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins's payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.