Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins (NYSE:ROL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Rollins in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. They set a buy rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Rollins Trading Up 1.4 %

Rollins stock opened at $44.90 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.54 and a 200 day moving average of $42.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.63. Rollins has a 12-month low of $32.19 and a 12-month high of $47.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The company had revenue of $748.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.12 million. Rollins had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 37.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Rollins will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.42%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In related news, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $230,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,575,422.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $230,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,575,422.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total transaction of $410,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,054.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,824 shares of company stock valued at $994,558. 4.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Rollins by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,231,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,407,553,000 after buying an additional 211,560 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Rollins by 40.6% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 9,293,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $346,923,000 after buying an additional 2,682,017 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rollins in the fourth quarter worth $256,862,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Rollins by 18.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,992,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,033,000 after buying an additional 620,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Rollins by 10.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,165,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $118,172,000 after buying an additional 312,274 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.