Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ROL. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.50.

Rollins Stock Up 0.4 %

ROL traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $49.69. 1,774,908 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,592,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.90. Rollins has a 1 year low of $40.41 and a 1 year high of $52.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.06 billion, a PE ratio of 51.76 and a beta of 0.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROL. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in Rollins by 14.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $465,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,722 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,225,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Rollins in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,980,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Rollins by 96.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,000,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,046,000 after buying an additional 490,183 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Rollins by 22.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.