Erste Asset Management GmbH Raises Stake in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 54,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,519 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $11,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 445 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 3.3% in the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Republic Services by 1.1% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 3,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Republic Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 4,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 366,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $202.24 per share, for a total transaction of $74,019,840.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.26.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG opened at $204.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $63.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.41. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.41 and a 12-month high of $253.38.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.