Advisors Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,697 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $7,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Republic Services by 437.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,131,850 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $184,827,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 19.4% in 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 buying an additional 509,116 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 544.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 545,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,580,000 after buying an additional 460,989 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC raised Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:RSG opened at $233.86 on Wednesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.92 and a 52 week high of $240.95. The stock has a market cap of $73.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $223.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.