Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 126,166 Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)

Riverbridge Partners LLC lessened its position in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,273,095 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 126,166 shares during the period. Rollins comprises about 2.0% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Rollins were worth $122,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Rollins by 0.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 133,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,208,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Crown Oak Advisors LLC lifted its position in Rollins by 4.3% during the first quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 215,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,660,000 after purchasing an additional 8,855 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Rollins by 7.8% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,102,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,556,000 after purchasing an additional 79,950 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Rollins by 3.2% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Rollins during the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ROL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rollins from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Argus started coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.81, for a total value of $101,448.01. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,640 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,388.40. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.77, for a total value of $2,270,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 662,727 shares in the company, valued at $37,623,011.79. The trade was a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,842 shares of company stock worth $2,480,861 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Down 0.6%

ROL opened at $56.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Rollins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.34 and a 1-year high of $58.65. The company has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.13.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Rollins had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 37.31%. The company had revenue of $822.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $817.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Rollins’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Rollins’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

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.