Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $4.40 Million Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,178 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Republic Services were worth $4,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Republic Services by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,069,836,000 after acquiring an additional 499,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,565,137 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $918,045,000 after acquiring an additional 57,616 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Republic Services by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,426,215 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $488,106,000 after acquiring an additional 280,542 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 39,024.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,226,177 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,091,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,546 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $385,772,000 after purchasing an additional 176,572 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $232.05. The company had a trading volume of 557,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,822. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $246.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.22. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.75 and a 1-year high of $258.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $72.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.61.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.01. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This is an increase from Republic Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is 34.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RSG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $284.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $258.89.

Republic Services 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.