National Pension Service Trims Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

National Pension Service reduced its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 54.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 409,432 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $74,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 207,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,927,000 after acquiring an additional 25,505 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 126,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,722,000 after acquiring an additional 11,563 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 75,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,899,000 after acquiring an additional 21,095 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on RSG shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.15.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE RSG opened at $200.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $211.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.80. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.41 and a twelve month high of $258.75. The company has a market capitalization of $61.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The firm’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 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 60,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $213.31 per share, for a total transaction of $12,947,917.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,803,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,635,597,400.42. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders bought 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Profile

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.