Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Boosts Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,377 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Republic Services were worth $15,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $553,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Republic Services by 39,024.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,226,177 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,091,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220,487 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Republic Services by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,069,836,000 after purchasing an additional 499,237 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in Republic Services by 170.6% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 584,345 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $117,559,000 after purchasing an additional 368,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Republic Services by 176.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 548,255 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $110,298,000 after purchasing an additional 350,221 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RSG. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, April 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Republic Services to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Republic Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Republic Services from $233.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.21.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RSG traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $241.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,768,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,153. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.82 and a twelve month high of $258.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $75.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $248.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.60.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.99%.

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.