Donoghue Forlines LLC Purchases New Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,364,000. Republic Services accounts for approximately 0.7% of Donoghue Forlines LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Republic Services by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,761,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,543,231,000 after acquiring an additional 170,548 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Republic Services by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,836,000 after acquiring an additional 499,237 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Republic Services by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,426,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $488,106,000 after acquiring an additional 280,542 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 39,024.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,226,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $539,091,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,487 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Republic Services by 12.4% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,043,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $494,930,000 after purchasing an additional 224,867 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.1%

Republic Services stock opened at $235.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.60 and a 12-month high of $258.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $243.75 and its 200 day moving average is $239.12. The company has a market capitalization of $73.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.60.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.01. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Republic Services’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This is an increase from Republic Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 34.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RSG shares. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Republic Services and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Republic Services from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Republic Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.17.

Republic Services Profile

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.