Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $52.39 and last traded at $52.44, with a volume of 362487 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Rollins Stock Up 4.4 %

The company has a market cap of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of 54.41 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.96.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In related news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rollins

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 14.0% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $465,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,722 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,557,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $395,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,508 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Rollins by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,267,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $197,778,000 after purchasing an additional 617,876 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rollins during the 4th quarter valued at $176,784,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Rollins by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,323,000 after acquiring an additional 420,399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Company Profile

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.