Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 708,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,558 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.23% of Republic Services worth $155,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 12,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 7,001 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Republic Services by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 64,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,606,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Republic Services by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,984,000 after buying an additional 6,194 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth about $617,165,000. Finally, Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 344,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,017,000 after buying an additional 6,820 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 60,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $213.31 per share, for a total transaction of $12,947,917.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 110,803,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,635,597,400.42. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total value of $380,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,254.24. This trade represents a 96.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.89.

Republic Services Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE RSG opened at $211.32 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $196.41 and a one year high of $238.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $65.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $212.54 and its 200-day moving average is $215.01.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.Republic Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.