Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 104.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,971 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC's holdings in Republic Services were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Republic Services by 23.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,594 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $277,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,681,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Republic Services by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the second quarter valued at about $1,705,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RSG. CIBC boosted their target price on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. William Blair initiated coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Republic Services from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.12.

Republic Services Stock Up 1.1 %

RSG traded up $2.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $212.00. The stock had a trading volume of 909,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,439. 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 company has a market capitalization of $66.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day moving average is $209.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.24. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $165.25 and a one year high of $220.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. Republic Services's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

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.