19,500 Shares in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Purchased by Ecofi Investissements SA

Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 19,500 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,635,000. Republic Services accounts for approximately 2.2% of Ecofi Investissements SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Republic Services by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,740,083,000 after purchasing an additional 144,719 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Republic Services by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,262,325 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,259,855,000 after acquiring an additional 218,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Republic Services by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,565,137 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $918,045,000 after acquiring an additional 57,616 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at $553,039,000. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 owns 10,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $241.26. 1,586,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,115,352. The company has a market capitalization of $75.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $236.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.92 and a 52-week high of $249.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on RSG. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Republic Services from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.38.

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.