Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Shares Sold by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its stake in Republic Services, Inc. by 0.6%, owning 381,065 shares after selling 2,459 shares, which constitutes approximately 1.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Republic Services recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.625, representing a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%, up from the previous $0.58.
• The company reported a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.6% in its latest earnings results, with earnings per share of $1.77, slightly exceeding analyst expectations.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. cut its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 381,065 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,459 shares during the quarter. Republic Services makes up approximately 1.5% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of Republic Services worth $92,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,761,276 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,543,231,000 after acquiring an additional 170,548 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 10.4% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 499,237 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 4.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,872,235 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $695,541,000 after acquiring an additional 119,158 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 280,542 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 39,024.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,226,177 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,091,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,487 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of RSG opened at $232.88 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $72.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $241.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.81.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This is an increase from Republic Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RSG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Republic Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Republic Services from $257.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Republic Services from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $262.17.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RSG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.