Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Buys 196 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RSG. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Republic Services Price Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $227.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $231.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.92 and a 1 year high of $249.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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. The company 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 firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on RSG. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 price target on Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This trade 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 is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Republic Services 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.