Sierra Ocean LLC Buys New Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Republic Services by 23.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,316,000 after acquiring an additional 73,207 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Republic Services by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,546,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $509,462,000 after purchasing an additional 25,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Republic Services by 437.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Republic Services Stock Up 2.9 %

Republic Services stock opened at $230.98 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $210.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.43. The company has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.03 and a 1-year high of $232.52.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

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.