Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,868,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55,485 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $395,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $617,165,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 7,683.2% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 739,792 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $169,768,000 after purchasing an additional 730,287 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1,337.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 575,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,995,000 after purchasing an additional 535,603 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 380.1% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 667,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,202,000 after purchasing an additional 528,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 93.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 907,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $208,307,000 after buying an additional 438,219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 60,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $213.31 per share, with a total value of $12,947,917.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,803,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,635,597,400.42. This represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RSG. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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 raised their price target on Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Republic Services from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.15.

Republic Services Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of RSG stock opened at $208.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.41 and a 12 month high of $255.47. The stock has a market cap of $64.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.78.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business 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%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

Republic Services Profile

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.