Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Stock Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 350,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,374 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $73,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in Republic Services by 2.5% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 5.9% in the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 903 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 1,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RSG. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $234.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Republic Services from $256.00 to $246.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.10.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 409,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $221.49 per share, with a total value of $90,700,155.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 116,166,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,729,680,431.70. The trade was a 0.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 5,240,588 shares of company stock worth $1,161,649,826 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.1%

Republic Services stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $252.73. The stock had a trading volume of 962,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,155. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.52. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $196.41 and a one year high of $255.39. The stock has a market cap of $76.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.32. 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 (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.01. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is 37.07%.

Republic Services Profile

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.