Capital World Investors Raises Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Capital World Investors lifted its position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,899,183 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 2.83% of Republic Services worth $1,857,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 8,547 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Republic Services by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,553 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Republic Services by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 94,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,336,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 11,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 4,729 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Up 1.3%

RSG stock opened at $210.59 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.75. The company has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.41. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.41 and a 12 month high of $255.47.

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. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is 36.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on RSG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.15.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 60,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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 owned 110,803,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,635,597,400.42. This represents a 0.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have acquired 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.