Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 84,752 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 392,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 84,752 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.13% of Republic Services worth $79,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Republic Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Republic Services by 17.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,358,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the third quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG stock opened at $238.37 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $180.92 and a one year high of $241.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $227.72 and its 200 day moving average is $213.86.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC raised Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

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.