HighTower Advisors LLC Has $3.06 Million Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG – Get Rating) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $3,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Veriti Management LLC grew its stake in Republic Services by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 21.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 80,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,028,000 after buying an additional 14,172 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 11.6% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 2,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at $813,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on RSG shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Republic Services from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Republic Services from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. TD Cowen began coverage on Republic Services in a report on Thursday, March 30th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Republic Services in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Republic Services from $148.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.40.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $145.09 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.75. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.72 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The company has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.11. Republic Services had a return on equity of 16.66% and a net margin of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.495 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 30th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 41.34%.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $129.60 per share, for a total transaction of $129,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $576,590.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Republic Services news, Director Tomago Collins sold 1,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.77, for a total transaction of $202,039.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,386,685.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jennifer M. Kirk bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $129.60 per share, with a total value of $129,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $576,590.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Company Profile

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Republic Services, Inc engages in the provision of environmental services. It operates through the following segments: Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. The Group 1 segment focuses on the business of recycling and solid waste in geographic areas located in western United States. The Group 2 segment includes the recycling and solid waste business in geographic areas located in the southeastern and mid-western and the eastern seaboard of the United States.