OFI Invest Asset Management Takes Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 174,406 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,884,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 88 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on RSG. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, 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. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.88.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

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

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $234.28 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.91 and a twelve month high of $240.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

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.