Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 10,217 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,241 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,217 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Rollins were worth $3,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 54.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,725,000 after acquiring an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,102,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rollins by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 661,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,484,000 after acquiring an additional 79,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after acquiring an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROL. Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” 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. StockNews.com raised Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Up 0.1 %

Rollins stock opened at $51.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.50 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.15. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.72 and a 12 month high of $52.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. Equities analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

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.