Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 621,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 33,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Republic Services worth $124,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after buying an additional 4,827 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 13.0% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after buying an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth about $4,430,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth about $790,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,102,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $229.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $71.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.50. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.95.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RSG shares. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Republic Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Profile

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.