Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $53.10 and last traded at $52.73, with a volume of 80786 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROL. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Rollins Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.81 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.31.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 76,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rollins

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Rollins by 11.7% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 6,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Rollins by 11.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 64,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 6,386 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Rollins by 18.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Rollins by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

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.