Rathbones Group PLC Buys 22,500 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,500 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $24,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 49,365 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 409,142 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 6.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,031,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $466,075,000 after acquiring an additional 114,291 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,458,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $359,695,000 after acquiring an additional 76,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 4.2% in the third quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 1,353,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $310,621,000 after acquiring an additional 54,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $253.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.15.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 366,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $202.24 per share, for a total transaction of $74,019,840.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,315,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,310,304,199.68. This trade represents a 0.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $207.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $63.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $213.33 and its 200 day moving average is $214.87. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.41 and a 1 year high of $258.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. Republic Services’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

About Republic Services

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.