Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 50,831 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 80,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 50,831 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $3,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the 4th quarter worth $8,734,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at about $176,784,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth about $5,259,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,176,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $100,860,000 after acquiring an additional 117,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $99,469.38. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,916,600.68. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock valued at $945,882 in the last three months. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rollins Price Performance

ROL stock opened at $54.32 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $41.72 and a 1 year high of $54.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.11 and a 200 day moving average of $49.62. The company has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.58 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ROL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Rollins 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.