BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 25.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 421,562 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 86,500 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.13% of Republic Services worth $84,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Partners Group Holding AG boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 347,885 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $69,869,000 after acquiring an additional 101,831 shares during the last quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the third quarter valued at $211,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter worth $6,579,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 12,697 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,550,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 391,857 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $78,128,000 after buying an additional 11,569 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $1,065,011.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG traded down $0.47 on Thursday, reaching $218.28. The company had a trading volume of 771,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,829. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.70. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $159.10 and a 52-week high of $220.58. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $205.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.69.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Republic Services's payout ratio is 37.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on RSG. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. William Blair started coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Republic Services from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.71.

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.