Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Shares Bought by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $5,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 329,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,341,000 after purchasing an additional 11,128 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 8,057 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 16,013 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,904 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,587,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,376,000 after purchasing an additional 158,491 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RSG. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the 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 approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $237.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $215.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.68. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.91 and a 12-month high of $237.52.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. 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.