Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 10.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,379,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 218,114 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.76% of Republic Services worth $586,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the first quarter worth approximately $198,685,000. M&G PLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 113.0% during the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,164,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $287,670,000 after buying an additional 617,939 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Republic Services by 118.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 806,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $198,869,000 after buying an additional 437,190 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Republic Services by 112.0% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 749,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $184,860,000 after acquiring an additional 396,041 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 27.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,763,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $427,009,000 after acquiring an additional 384,695 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RSG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Republic Services from $280.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $260.00 to $233.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer set a $256.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.91.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.4%

RSG stock opened at $219.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.86 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $218.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.43 and a fifty-two week high of $258.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.12. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. Republic Services’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.20%.

Republic Services Company 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.