Versant Capital Management Inc Buys 326 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 57.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 890 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 326 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Rollins were worth $41,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 24.4% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 77,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,746,000 after buying an additional 15,187 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 1,384.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 11,190 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at $451,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Rollins by 16.8% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 125,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,105,000 after purchasing an additional 18,020 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rollins Stock Performance

NYSE:ROL opened at $45.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.53 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $52.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.62 and a 200-day moving average of $49.11.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROL. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.40.

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.