New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,158 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,731 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System's holdings in Republic Services were worth $30,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 12.3% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 30.6% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,878 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,381,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 28,962 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. CIBC lifted their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of RSG stock traded up $1.04 on Wednesday, reaching $229.59. 1,045,411 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,000,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $211.64 and a 200-day moving average of $207.96. The company has a market cap of $71.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.74. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $179.62 and a one year high of $232.52.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.