Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,064,355 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 1,700,013 shares.The stock last traded at $47.27 and had previously closed at $47.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.80.

Rollins Stock Up 0.4 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a PE ratio of 49.30 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,438,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,500,927,000 after purchasing an additional 206,873 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 148,316 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Rollins by 14.5% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,826,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,765,000 after acquiring an additional 357,535 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 133,100 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Rollins by 8.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,156,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,247,000 after acquiring an additional 172,009 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.