Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Position Increased by First American Bank

First American Bank increased its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. First American Bank’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $6,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Republic Services by 23.2% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,131,850 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 509,116 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 544.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 545,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,580,000 after purchasing an additional 460,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 169.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 554,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,366,000 after acquiring an additional 348,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Republic Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $232.64 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.91 and a 52 week high of $234.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $215.06 and its 200-day moving average is $209.41. The firm has a market cap of $72.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.