State of Michigan Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $11,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 55,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,163,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the third quarter worth about $72,000. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 18.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 318,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,993,000 after acquiring an additional 50,568 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 77.0% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,155,000 after acquiring an additional 15,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 43,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC raised Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Republic Services Stock Performance

RSG opened at $235.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $73.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $217.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.45. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.91 and a 1 year high of $240.95.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Company 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.