Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $57.34 and last traded at $57.18, with a volume of 358512 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROL. UBS Group increased their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price objective on Rollins and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.57.

Rollins Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.73 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $822.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $817.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. Rollins's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Rollins's payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $171,194.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $509,866.20. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.81, for a total value of $101,448.01. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,093,388.40. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,259 shares of company stock worth $1,047,330 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rollins

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Security Financial Services INC. raised its holdings in Rollins by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 5,711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Rollins by 1.9% during the first quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,305 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in Rollins by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 13,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Rollins by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Rollins by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,410 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 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.