Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins (NYSE:ROL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

ROL has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Rollins in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. They set a buy rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reiterated a neutral rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Rollins Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ROL opened at $44.90 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $32.19 and a 52-week high of $47.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.19. The company has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.63.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Rollins had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 37.73%. The company had revenue of $748.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. Rollins’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Rollins will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total value of $410,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,054.45. The sale 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 99,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,054.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,422.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,824 shares of company stock valued at $994,558 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 63.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Rollins by 13.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 16.9% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 12,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 66.6% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Rollins by 9.7% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.