Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Boosts Position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Rollins by 12.3% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 66,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,248 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Rollins by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Rollins by 18.0% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 321,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,195,000 after buying an additional 48,952 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 64,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,204,000 after buying an additional 6,386 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL stock opened at $48.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $23.51 billion, a PE ratio of 50.57 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.38. Rollins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.61 and a 12 month high of $51.96.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,129.97. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ROL shares. Barclays began coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rollins presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.83.

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.