Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Bought by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 75.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,579 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Republic Services were worth $4,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of RSG. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,695,747 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,054,820,000 after acquiring an additional 166,474 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Republic Services by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,857,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,183 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Republic Services by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,348,501 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,133,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,719 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,070,130 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,074,513,000 after buying an additional 807,525 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $617,165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RSG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $247.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.89.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 58 shares in the company, valued at $12,254.24. The trade was a 96.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 60,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $213.31 per share, with a total value of $12,947,917.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 110,803,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,635,597,400.42. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Republic Services Stock Down 3.5%

RSG stock opened at $211.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.01. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.41 and a 12 month high of $238.62. The company has a market cap of $65.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.40.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Republic Services's payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

About Republic Services

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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