Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Purchases Shares of 15,985 Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,501,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at $617,165,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,183 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,348,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,133,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,719 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,070,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,513,000 after purchasing an additional 807,525 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 118.7% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,011,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $214,376,000 after purchasing an additional 548,926 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RSG shares. Argus lowered shares of Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.89.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE RSG opened at $222.43 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.41 and a 12 month high of $246.25. The company has a market capitalization of $68.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.69. 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 earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Republic Services’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 60,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $213.31 per share, for a total transaction of $12,947,917.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total value of $380,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,254.24. This trade represents a 96.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682 in the last 90 days. 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.