TIAA Trust National Association Raises Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 175 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RSG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,827 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,013,000 after purchasing an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,430,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in Republic Services by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,879,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $790,000. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $239.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.92 and a 12 month high of $241.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $227.23 and a 200 day moving average of $213.52. The firm has a market cap of $74.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.98, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio 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.