Morgan Stanley Raises Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Price Target to $43.00

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ROL. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Rollins in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. They issued a buy rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Rollins from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $47.00.

Rollins Stock Performance

Rollins stock opened at $44.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Rollins has a 12-month low of $32.19 and a 12-month high of $47.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 67.42%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rollins

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rollins by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,231,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,553,000 after acquiring an additional 211,560 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Rollins by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 9,293,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $346,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,682,017 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rollins in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $256,862,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Rollins by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,992,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,033,000 after acquiring an additional 620,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Rollins by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,165,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $118,172,000 after acquiring an additional 312,274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.