Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 16,877 Shares of Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 617,875 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,877 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Rollins worth $18,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,619,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 71.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,851,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,300,000 after buying an additional 771,578 shares during the period. Dudley & Shanley Inc. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 8.8% during the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 495,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,689,000 after acquiring an additional 39,925 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Rollins by 16.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 216,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,551,000 after acquiring an additional 31,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the second quarter worth about $61,792,000. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Rollins from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $33.00 target price on shares of Rollins and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of Rollins and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $35.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

Rollins Price Performance

ROL stock opened at $38.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.50. Rollins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.28 and a 12-month high of $66.14.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. Rollins had a return on equity of 39.43% and a net margin of 13.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1825. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.97%.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc is a provider of pest and termite control services for residential and commercial customers. The company offers protection against common pests such as ants, cockroaches, rodents, termites, mosquitoes and bedbugs, along with wildlife control and other specialty services.

Rollins serves customers through a portfolio of regional and international brands, including Orkin, the company’s best-known pest control business; HomeTeam Pest Defense; Western Pest Services; Critter Control; and other local and specialized operations.