California State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,313 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Republic Services worth $56,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Republic Services by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Republic Services by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 745 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Republic Services by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 8,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Republic Services by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CIBC lifted their price target on Republic Services from $196.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James lowered their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Republic Services from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Republic Services from $211.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.69.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG stock traded up $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $194.77. 26,561 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,205,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $61.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.69. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.23 and a 1-year high of $206.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $192.64 and its 200 day moving average is $186.60.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 12.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Republic Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth bought 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $185.26 per share, for a total transaction of $100,040.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,040.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Amanda Hodges sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.02, for a total transaction of $1,209,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 6,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,270,702.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth purchased 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $185.26 per share, for a total transaction of $100,040.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,040.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Company Profile

Republic Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers environmental services in the United States and Canada. It is involved in the collection and processing of recyclable, solid waste, and industrial waste materials; transportation and disposal of non-hazardous and hazardous waste streams; and other environmental solutions.