Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Decreases Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $3,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RSG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 37.5% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 4,827 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in Republic Services by 13.0% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,013,000 after acquiring an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth $4,430,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at $6,102,000. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1,112.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 19,698 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.41.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $232.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.91 and a 52 week high of $234.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $215.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.