Graham Capital Management L.P. Takes $4.90 Million Position in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management opened a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter, buying 23,100 shares valued at about $4.9 million. Several other hedge funds also increased their stakes, and institutional investors now own 57.73% of the company.
• Analysts remain mixed on RSG, with recent price target adjustments from firms including RBC, JPMorgan, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley. The stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average target price of $243.26.
• Republic Services reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.70 per share on revenue of $4.11 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share payable July 15.

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 23,100 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,896,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas increased its position in Republic Services by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 54,702 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,593,000 after purchasing an additional 9,964 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Republic Services by 134.6% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,204 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,836,000 after purchasing an additional 15,607 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its position in Republic Services by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in Republic Services by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the 4th quarter worth about $1,345,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on RSG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Republic Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Republic Services from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.26.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 366,000 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $202.24 per share, with a total value of $74,019,840.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,315,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,310,304,199.68. This trade represents a 0.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total value of $380,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58 shares in the company, valued at $12,254.24. This represents a 96.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $209.30 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $208.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.41 and a 12-month high of $251.17. The firm has a market cap of $64.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services's payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

Republic Services Company Profile

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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