California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 154,260 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 16.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 765,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 154,260 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.25% of Republic Services worth $188,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Republic Services by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,057,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,699,892,000 after buying an additional 296,719 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,939,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,438,237,000 after acquiring an additional 42,019 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Republic Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,335,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,292,050,000 after acquiring an additional 17,711 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Republic Services by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,821,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,187,328,000 after acquiring an additional 144,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Republic Services by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,872,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $695,541,000 after purchasing an additional 119,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on RSG shares. National Bankshares cut their price objective on Republic Services from $270.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Republic Services from $257.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.45.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE:RSG opened at $216.49 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $216.65 and its 200 day moving average is $231.59. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.43 and a fifty-two week high of $258.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 18.24%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is 37.20%.

About Republic Services

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.