Earnest Partners LLC Boosts Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,286,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,534 shares during the quarter. Republic Services accounts for 1.2% of Earnest Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.41% of Republic Services worth $249,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Unigestion Holding SA increased its position in Republic Services by 2,178.2% in the fourth quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 127,647 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,048,000 after buying an additional 122,044 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Republic Services by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 214,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,357,000 after buying an additional 73,651 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Republic Services by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 591,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $97,496,000 after buying an additional 55,668 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 38,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,410,000 after purchasing an additional 21,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 8.8% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 239,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,760,000 after purchasing an additional 19,414 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG stock opened at $204.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $202.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.13. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.23 and a 52-week high of $208.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.70.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 12.11%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. This is a boost from Republic Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 40.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James cut their target price on Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC increased their target price on Republic Services from $196.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $192.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Republic Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Republic Services from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.00.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total transaction of $649,632.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,549,832.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is 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.