CoreFirst Bank & Trust Purchases Shares of 750 Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 750 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $151,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Republic Services by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,740,083,000 after buying an additional 144,719 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,131,850 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Republic Services by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,316,000 after purchasing an additional 73,207 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased 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 valued at $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,546,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $509,462,000 after purchasing an additional 25,350 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.2 %

Republic Services stock opened at $236.16 on Tuesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.92 and a 1 year high of $240.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $225.49 and its 200-day moving average is $212.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $73.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on RSG shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

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.