Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Lowers Stake in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Key Points

• Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut its stake in Republic Services by 24.4% in the first quarter, selling 8,979 shares and leaving it with 27,797 shares valued at about $6.09 million.
• Republic Services reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.70 versus the $1.64 consensus and revenue of $4.11 billion, both slightly ahead of expectations.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, or $2.50 annualized, which implies a 1.1% yield and a payout ratio of 35.87%.

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lessened its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,797 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,979 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's holdings in Republic Services were worth $6,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of RSG. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Republic Services by 25.9% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,101 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 8.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,734,798 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $380,008,000 after buying an additional 131,298 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 903 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Republic Services by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 105,428 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $23,091,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of RSG opened at $220.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm's fifty day moving average is $211.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.74. The stock has a market cap of $67.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.40. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.41 and a 52-week high of $246.25.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on RSG. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Argus lowered shares of Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $247.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 60,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $213.31 per share, with a total value of $12,947,917.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,803,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,635,597,400.42. This represents a 0.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total transaction of $380,304.00. Following the sale, the director owned 58 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,254.24. This represents a 96.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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