Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,266,899 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,374 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.40% of Republic Services worth $254,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 55,581 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,163,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 318,629 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $63,993,000 after buying an additional 50,568 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 77.0% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,627 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,155,000 after buying an additional 15,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 43,137 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,664,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on RSG. CIBC upgraded Republic Services from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $264.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Republic Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $235.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.91 and a 1-year high of $240.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $217.74 and a 200-day moving average of $210.45. The company has a market capitalization of $73.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

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