Unigestion Holding SA Raises Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Unigestion Holding SA boosted its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 179,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,056 shares during the quarter. Republic Services accounts for approximately 1.7% of Unigestion Holding SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $36,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Republic Services by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after purchasing an additional 13,138 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 3.1% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 105,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,192,000 after buying an additional 2,144 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 1.7% in 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 during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. William Blair initiated coverage on Republic Services in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Republic Services from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.88.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, 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 sale, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Price Performance

NYSE RSG opened at $211.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $207.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.26. The stock has a market cap of $66.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.71. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.65 and a 52 week high of $220.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.24 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Republic Services’s dividend 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.