New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 150,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,731 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $30,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Republic Services by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 30.6% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 5.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 28,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $230.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $210.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.33. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.03 and a 52-week high of $232.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on RSG shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.38.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $1,065,011.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,906.36. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.