State Street Corp Decreases Stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

State Street Corp lowered its stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,754,293 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 268,138 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 2.43% of Rollins worth $594,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Rollins by 10,233.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE ROL traded down $0.74 on Monday, hitting $48.68. 1,384,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,698,550. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $23.58 billion, a PE ratio of 51.48 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.49 and a 200-day moving average of $49.11. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $52.16.

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

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a boost from Rollins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.83.

Insider Activity

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

Rollins Company 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.