Auxano Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Key Points

• Auxano Advisors LLC initiated a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter, buying 5,409 shares valued at about $1.146 million.
• Republic Services reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.70 versus the $1.64 estimate and revenue of $4.11 billion, while revenue rose 2.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, payable July 15, which annualizes to $2.50 per share and a yield of about 1.2%.

Auxano Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,409 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,146,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Republic Services by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,107,360 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,384,757,000 after acquiring an additional 49,365 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 15.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,098,273 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $711,003,000 after buying an additional 409,142 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 6.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,031,005 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $466,075,000 after buying an additional 114,291 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,458,550 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $359,695,000 after buying an additional 76,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.2% in the third quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 1,353,587 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $310,621,000 after buying an additional 54,452 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus cut shares of Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.15.

Republic Services Stock Up 2.9%

Republic Services stock opened at $214.43 on Tuesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.41 and a twelve month high of $258.75. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $214.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.43.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 366,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $202.24 per share, for a total transaction of $74,019,840.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 110,315,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,310,304,199.68. This represents a 0.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic's core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.

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