Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Stake Lifted by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 331,041 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 76,109 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.07% of Rollins worth $15,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Rollins by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,310 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 10,393 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 65.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 15,574 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Rollins by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,252 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,300,000 after acquiring an additional 9,380 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Rollins by 14.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,927 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ROL shares. StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rollins has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.83.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE:ROL traded down $3.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.15. 4,217,701 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,680,404. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Rollins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.72 and a 52-week high of $56.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50 day moving average price is $51.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.69.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

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.