Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 28.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,684 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,072 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Republic Services were worth $9,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth about $1,702,000. CFO4Life Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Republic Services by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 224,760 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,217,000 after acquiring an additional 25,675 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Republic Services by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 44,256 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,904,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YCG LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. YCG LLC now owns 215,976 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,450,000 after acquiring an additional 7,744 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $264.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.88.

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Republic Services Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG traded down $1.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $232.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,625,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,010,427. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.92 and a 12 month high of $240.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $224.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Republic Services

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.