Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Raises Stake in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lifted its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 44.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,606 shares during the quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $7,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,107,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,384,757,000 after purchasing an additional 49,365 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,695,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,054,820,000 after purchasing an additional 166,474 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,183 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,348,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,133,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,719 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 valued at $711,003,000 after purchasing an additional 409,142 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus downgraded shares of Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.26.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG opened at $209.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.41 and a 52-week high of $251.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $208.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.39. The company has a market cap of $64.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.41.

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, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Republic Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total value of $380,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,254.24. This represents a 96.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 60,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $213.31 per share, with a total value of $12,947,917.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,803,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,635,597,400.42. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.