Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Stake Lowered by FORA Capital LLC

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC reduced its stake in Republic Services, Inc. by 15.5%, holding 6,475 shares valued at approximately $1.57 million after selling 1,184 shares in Q1.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.58 to $0.625 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 36.98%.
• Despite a revenue of $4.24 billion, slightly below expectations, Republic Services reported an EPS of $1.77, exceeding analyst forecasts by $0.01.

FORA Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,475 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,184 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Republic Services were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,822 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 8,547 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,439 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Republic Services by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,119 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 1,799 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Republic Services by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Republic Services by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,426,215 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $488,106,000 after buying an additional 280,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on RSG. Melius initiated coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $229.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Republic Services from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Republic Services from $280.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Republic Services and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $262.17.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In related news, EVP Gregg Brummer sold 7,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.94, for a total transaction of $1,716,651.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $949,796.40. The trade was a 64.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 4,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $234.91 per share, for a total transaction 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 represents a 0.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.5%

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

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

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Republic Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is 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.