Independent Advisor Alliance Increases Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 378 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $364,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Republic Services by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,883,000 after buying an additional 1,131,850 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,827,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 544.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 545,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,580,000 after acquiring an additional 460,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $229.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $221.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.50. The firm has a market cap of $71.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.91 and a 12 month high of $240.95.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 35.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Republic Services 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.