Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 91,451 Shares of Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,480,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 91,451 shares during the period. Rollins comprises about 0.8% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Rollins were worth $86,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $218,593,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Rollins by 1,923.1% during the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,878,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,300 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Rollins by 41.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,657,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,224,000 after buying an additional 1,649,676 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Rollins by 4.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,720,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,156,949,000 after buying an additional 1,480,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 78.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,282,659 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $128,788,000 after buying an additional 1,000,185 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rollins Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:ROL opened at $58.34 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.73 and a 1 year high of $66.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.80.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.02). Rollins had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 38.16%. The company had revenue of $912.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Rollins’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.1825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $56.00 price target on Rollins and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rollins in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $67.00 target price on shares of Rollins and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 14,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.36, for a total value of $842,971.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 55,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,322,794.72. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 2,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.06, for a total transaction of $143,903.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 29,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,755,613.86. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,351 shares of company stock worth $4,554,785. 4.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rollins Company Profile

Rollins, Inc (NYSE: ROL) is a provider of pest and termite control services operating through a network of subsidiaries and franchises. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company offers a broad range of pest management solutions for both residential and commercial customers, positioning itself as a specialist in protecting property and public health from pests and vectors.

Its service offerings include general pest control, termite inspection and treatment, bed bug remediation, mosquito and vector control, wildlife exclusion, and related specialty services.