Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Stock Holdings Lifted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 175.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,532 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $3,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RSG. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,255 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 31,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,129,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in Republic Services by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Republic Services from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Republic Services from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Republic Services from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered Republic Services from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $199.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Republic Services in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $198.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.77.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $188.95 on Thursday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.33 and a 1-year high of $192.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $185.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.34. The company has a market cap of $59.52 billion, a PE ratio of 34.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.68.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The business services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 11.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.10, for a total transaction of $1,002,608.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,669,303.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.