Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Raises Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Republic Services by 3.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 275,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,324,000 after buying an additional 10,303 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $233,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Republic Services by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 32,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,471,000 after purchasing an additional 12,100 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Republic Services by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RSG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.88.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:RSG opened at $236.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $73.75 billion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $225.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.92 and a 52 week high of $240.95.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.