EULAV Asset Management Cuts Stake in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

EULAV Asset Management decreased its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 305,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,000 shares during the period. Republic Services makes up about 1.7% of EULAV Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. EULAV Asset Management’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $64,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter worth $3,524,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 12,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,625,000 after acquiring an additional 7,001 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 68.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 352,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,883,000 after acquiring an additional 143,704 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 15.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,098,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $711,003,000 after acquiring an additional 409,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 11.5% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 93,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,383,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE RSG opened at $210.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.41 and a 1 year high of $255.47. The company has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $209.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Republic Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In related news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 366,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $202.24 per share, for a total transaction of $74,019,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,315,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,310,304,199.68. The trade was a 0.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired a total of 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $245.15.

Republic Services Company Profile

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.