Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Trims Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $15,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Republic Services by 1.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 16.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.41.

Republic Services Price Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $230.73 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.91 and a 52-week high of $232.52.

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

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Republic Services

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.