Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Raises Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the quarter. Republic Services comprises approximately 2.4% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $5,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Republic Services by 23.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,131,850 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $903,316,000 after acquiring an additional 73,207 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Republic Services by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,546,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $509,462,000 after acquiring an additional 25,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in 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 valued at $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of RSG stock opened at $235.98 on Tuesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.92 and a 52-week high of $240.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.69 billion, a PE ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.95.

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

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

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.