Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Reduces Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,746 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,602 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,485 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,121,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 125.7% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 7,075 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,069,836,000 after buying an additional 499,237 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 579,379 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $116,456,000 after buying an additional 27,453 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,825,175 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $367,192,000 after acquiring an additional 10,562 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $264.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Republic Services from $233.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $245.38.

Republic Services Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $243.96 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.92 and a 52-week high of $249.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $236.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.56. 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 company has a market cap of $76.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.03. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. Republic Services's payout ratio is currently 34.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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