Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,263 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Rollins were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 61,475 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 22.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 136.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 265,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,327,000 after buying an additional 153,437 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rollins during the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Rollins during the 4th quarter valued at $1,054,000. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL stock opened at $53.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.25 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.88 and its 200 day moving average is $49.57. Rollins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.72 and a twelve month high of $54.00.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 37.94%. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Rollins’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $99,469.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,131,937.94. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % 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. 4.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.