Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Buys New Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,738 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,154,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Republic Services by 0.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.6% in 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 during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,069,836,000 after acquiring an additional 499,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,565,137 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $918,045,000 after acquiring an additional 57,616 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE RSG traded up $2.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $246.29. 1,480,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,117,671. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.92 and a 1-year high of $249.73. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $237.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.96 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.01 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%. Republic Services's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Republic Services's payout ratio is 34.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.38.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

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.