Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Republic Services by 6.2% in Q4 to 445,395 shares (about 0.14% of the company), worth roughly $93.6 million.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $244.67 (nine Buy ratings vs. eleven Hold ratings), reflecting mixed sentiment and several recent target adjustments.
• Republic Services recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.70 vs. $1.64) on $4.11 billion in revenue and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share (1.2% yield; ex-dividend July 2).

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 445,395 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,008 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Republic Services worth $93,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,107,360 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,384,757,000 after buying an additional 49,365 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,098,273 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $711,003,000 after buying an additional 409,142 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,031,005 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $466,075,000 after purchasing an additional 114,291 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,458,550 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $359,695,000 after purchasing an additional 76,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 1,353,587 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $310,621,000 after purchasing an additional 54,452 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $246.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $244.67.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.5%

RSG stock opened at $200.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $198.24 and a 52 week high of $258.75. The company's 50-day moving average price is $217.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 18.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services's payout ratio is currently 36.79%.

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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