Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Given New $43.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

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

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

Rollins Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ROL opened at $44.90 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.19. The firm has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.45, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.72. Rollins has a 52-week low of $32.19 and a 52-week high of $47.45.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $748.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.12 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.73% and a net margin of 13.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rollins will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins 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 value of $410,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,054.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,824 shares of company stock valued at $994,558. 4.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rollins

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 211,560 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,682,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the fourth quarter worth $256,862,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Rollins by 18.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,992,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,033,000 after buying an additional 620,179 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Rollins by 10.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,165,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $118,172,000 after buying an additional 312,274 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is 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.