Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Reduces Stake in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. reduced its stake in Republic Services by 2.9%, selling 6,950 shares, which now makes up 2.7% of its investment portfolio.
• Republic Services declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, up from $0.58, with a dividend yield of 1.1%.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard and JPMorgan Chase, increased their holdings in Republic Services during the 1st quarter, highlighting a significant interest from institutional investors.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. decreased its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,780 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,950 shares during the quarter. Republic Services comprises 2.7% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. owned 0.07% of Republic Services worth $55,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RSG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,822 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 8,547 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth $651,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Republic Services by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,385 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Republic Services by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 87,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,162 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RSG shares. Melius Research raised Republic Services to a "hold" rating and set a $281.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Republic Services from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $229.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Republic Services to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $262.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 4,258 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,797,072,005.12. This trade represents a 0.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregg Brummer sold 7,338 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $949,796.40. The trade was a 64.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of RSG traded down $1.58 on Wednesday, reaching $227.49. The stock had a trading volume of 333,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,267,990. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59. 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 50-day simple moving average of $236.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.03. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.60 and a 12-month high of $258.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. Republic Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.820-6.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This is a boost from Republic Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. 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%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is 34.32%.

About Republic Services

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.