Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $275.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Republic Services from $240.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Republic Services from $232.00 to $219.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Deutsche Bank decreased their price objective on Republic Services from $270.00 to $258.00 in a research note on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $233.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Republic Services from $256.00 to $246.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.10.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.1%

RSG stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $252.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 962,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,155. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Republic Services has a 52-week low of $196.41 and a 52-week high of $255.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.52.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.01. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.07%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, EVP Brian A. Bales sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.00, for a total value of $829,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,298,304. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 324,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $222.89 per share, for a total transaction of $72,396,900.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 117,058,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,091,156,583.16. This represents a 0.28% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 5,240,588 shares of company stock valued at $1,161,649,826 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Republic Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,798,092,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Republic Services by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,953,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,120,893,000 after acquiring an additional 160,051 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Republic Services in the second quarter valued at $682,573,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 14.0% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,814,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $590,761,000 after purchasing an additional 345,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 68.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,256,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $497,828,000 after purchasing an additional 913,249 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc. provides waste collection, recycling and environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across the United States. Its services include collecting and transporting waste, operating transfer stations and landfills, and processing recyclable materials. The company also provides environmental solutions, including services for the management and disposal of hazardous and other specialized waste. Republic Services traces its origins to the 1990s and expanded its operations through the 2008 combination with Allied Waste Industries.