Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $9.19 Million Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 28.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,072 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $9,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RSG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Republic Services by 37.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,827 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 13.0% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,013,000 after acquiring an additional 13,138 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,430,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $790,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the third quarter worth approximately $6,102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on RSG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Republic Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $234.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $180.92 and a one year high of $240.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $223.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.29.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The company 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 company posted $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.