Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 700,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 49,564 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $140,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Republic Services by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after acquiring an additional 4,827 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in Republic Services by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,013,000 after buying an additional 13,138 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 72,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,672,000 after buying an additional 28,764 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth $4,430,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,879,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock opened at $230.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $72.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.59, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $231.01 and a 200-day moving average of $215.46. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.92 and a 12-month high of $249.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $1,436,062.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RSG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC raised Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services 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.