Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its Republic Services stake by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 70,791 shares and ending with 4.77 million shares valued at about $1.01 billion.
• Other major institutional holders were mostly adding to positions, and institutions and hedge funds together now own 57.73% of Republic Services’ stock.
• Republic Services recently beat earnings estimates, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, payable July 15, for an annualized yield of about 1.2%.

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,772,641 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 70,791 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.54% of Republic Services worth $1,011,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,107,360 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,384,757,000 after purchasing an additional 49,365 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Republic Services by 15.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,098,273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $711,003,000 after acquiring an additional 409,142 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Republic Services by 6.0% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 114,291 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Republic Services by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,458,550 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $359,695,000 after acquiring an additional 76,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Republic Services by 4.2% in the third quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 1,353,587 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $310,621,000 after acquiring an additional 54,452 shares in the last quarter. 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 research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Argus downgraded shares of Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.15.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 60,700 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $213.31 per share, with a total value of $12,947,917.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 110,803,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,635,597,400.42. This represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $200.32 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.80. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $196.41 and a one year high of $258.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.43.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Republic Services Profile

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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