Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.94 and last traded at $53.75, with a volume of 411999 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rollins presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.00.

Rollins Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.92 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.52.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $509,866.20. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882. Company insiders own 4.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rollins

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of Rollins by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC grew its stake in Rollins by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Rollins by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 38,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,767,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 37,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Rollins by 3.0% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 10,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.