174,406 Shares in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Purchased by OFI Invest Asset Management

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 174,406 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,884,000. OFI Invest Asset Management owned approximately 0.06% of Republic Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RSG. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Republic Services by 437.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,883,000 after buying an additional 1,131,850 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $184,827,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after buying an additional 509,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 544.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 545,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,580,000 after buying an additional 460,989 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Performance

RSG opened at $234.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.16 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.91 and a 1 year high of $240.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.84.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Republic Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers environmental services in the United States and Canada. It is involved in the collection and processing of recyclable, solid waste, and industrial waste materials; transportation and disposal of non-hazardous and hazardous waste streams; and other environmental solutions.