ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,526 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $9,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RSG. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 7,683.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 739,792 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $169,768,000 after buying an additional 730,287 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 1,337.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 575,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,995,000 after purchasing an additional 535,603 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 380.1% in the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 667,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,202,000 after purchasing an additional 528,540 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 907,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $208,307,000 after purchasing an additional 438,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,326,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,480,000 after purchasing an additional 437,166 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on RSG. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Republic Services from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 366,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $202.24 per share, with a total value of $74,019,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 110,315,982 shares in the company, valued at $22,310,304,199.68. This trade represents a 0.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of RSG stock opened at $207.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.43. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.41 and a 1-year high of $258.75. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $213.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.87.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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