Candriam S.C.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 229.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,370 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at $39,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE RSG opened at $233.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.91 and a 52-week high of $240.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $219.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.06. The firm has a market cap of $72.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

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.