Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Holdings Lowered by Earnest Partners LLC

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in Republic Services, selling 27,026 shares, and now holds 1,227,929 shares, accounting for 1.4% of their portfolio.
• Republic Services declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.625 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.1%, set to be paid on October 15th.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its price target for Republic Services from $229.00 to $275.00, reflecting a positive outlook for the company's stock.

Earnest Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,227,929 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 27,026 shares during the period. Republic Services makes up approximately 1.4% of Earnest Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 0.39% of Republic Services worth $297,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RSG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 18,997 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Republic Services by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,674,000 after buying an additional 1,963 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Republic Services by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Republic Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Republic Services by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 16,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 824 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 4,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $234.91 per share, with a total value of $1,000,246.78. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 109,816,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,797,072,005.12. This trade represents a 0.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregg Brummer sold 7,338 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.94, for a total value of $1,716,651.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,060 shares in the company, valued at $949,796.40. This represents a 64.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RSG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $280.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Republic Services to a "hold" rating and set a $281.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Republic Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $262.17.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $234.23. 875,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,158,847. The business's 50-day moving average price is $238.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.60 and a twelve month high of $258.75. The company has a market capitalization of $73.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.60.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.26 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 12.97%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. Republic Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.820-6.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Republic Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

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.