Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Purchased by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 112.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,365 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $1,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Republic Services by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $201.45 on Wednesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.41 and a 1 year high of $258.75. The firm has a market cap of $61.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.83.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Republic Services from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 60,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $213.31 per share, with a total value of $12,947,917.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 110,803,982 shares in the company, valued at $23,635,597,400.42. This represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.