Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Stock Price

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $48.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.67.

Rollins Stock Down 0.5 %

ROL stock opened at $48.75 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.15. Rollins has a 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $52.16. The company has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rollins will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Rollins by 1.5% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 10,023,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $489,036,000 after acquiring an additional 148,316 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $465,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,722 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Rollins by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,275,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,821,000 after purchasing an additional 157,619 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Rollins by 4.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,825,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $137,860,000 after purchasing an additional 133,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Rollins by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,167,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,655,000 after purchasing an additional 31,458 shares in the last quarter. 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.