National Pension Service Has $37.67 Million Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

National Pension Service lowered its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG – Get Rating) by 6.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 274,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,709 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $37,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 3.5% during the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. WMS Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.7% during the third quarter. WMS Partners LLC now owns 4,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA increased its stake in Republic Services by 1.3% in the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 5,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its stake in Republic Services by 1.2% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 6,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its stake in Republic Services by 2.4% in the first quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 3,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $129.60 per share, for a total transaction of $129,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $576,590.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RSG. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Republic Services from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Republic Services from $150.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $148.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.33.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG opened at $133.57 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $119.72 and a one year high of $149.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.65.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.11. Republic Services had a net margin of 11.01% and a return on equity of 16.72%. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. Republic Services’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 31st. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Republic Services Profile

(Get Rating)

Republic Services, Inc engages in the provision of services in the domestic non-hazardous solid waste industry. It provides integrated waste management services, which offers non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer, recycling, disposal and energy services. The firm operates through the following segments: Group 1, Group 2, and Corporate Entities & Other.