Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 66 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $4,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,658,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $948,971,000 after buying an additional 44,512 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Republic Services by 4.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,054,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,297,000 after acquiring an additional 197,654 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 2.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,790,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $547,473,000 after acquiring an additional 107,499 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,727,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $531,237,000 after purchasing an additional 13,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,376,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $338,605,000 after purchasing an additional 109,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.10, for a total value of $1,002,608.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.1 %

RSG opened at $191.76 on Tuesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.75. The company has a market cap of $60.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.53.

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

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Republic Services from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group lowered Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Republic Services from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.77.

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.