Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,365 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Republic Services, Inc. by 12.5%, owning 9,595 shares valued at approximately $2.32 million after selling 1,365 shares in Q1.
• Several institutional investors made significant moves with Republic Services, including Golden State Wealth Management increasing its stake by 3,533.3%, now owning 109 shares worth $26,000.
• Republic Services recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625, up from $0.58, translating to an annualized yield of 1.1%, with the next payment scheduled for October 15th.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,595 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,365 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 8,547 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Republic Services by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 13,943 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth $13,654,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 26,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $236.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 904,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,345. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $243.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $197.60 and a one year high of $258.75. The stock has a market cap of $73.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.60.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Republic Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Republic Services's payout ratio is presently 36.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Republic Services to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $262.17.

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.