New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437,705 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,897 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Republic Services worth $88,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in Republic Services by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,564 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Republic Services by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 24,458 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,920,000 after buying an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 13,227 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Republic Services by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 35,968 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,236,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Republic Services by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 34,982 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,639,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RSG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.75.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE RSG traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $230.53. 529,200 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 992,981. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.91 and a 12-month high of $232.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $212.44 and a 200-day moving average of $208.27.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. 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.