Vanguard Group Inc. Has $3.74 Billion Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,719 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Republic Services worth $3,740,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Republic Services by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $330,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 358,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,092,000 after purchasing an additional 40,634 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,247,000. Finally, Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 1,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on RSG. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Republic Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment 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 price target of $236.88.

Republic Services Price Performance

NYSE:RSG opened at $236.16 on Tuesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.92 and a 12-month high of $240.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $225.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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 (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

Republic Services Company Profile

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.