Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Rollins Stock Down 1.4 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a PE ratio of 55.25 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In related news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $99,469.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,131,937.94. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,338 shares of company stock worth $945,882. 4.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rollins

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter valued at $176,784,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Rollins by 389.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,770,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $128,396,000 after buying an additional 2,203,859 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter valued at about $81,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rollins during the fourth quarter worth about $74,249,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 17.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.