Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Sold by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service cut its stake in Republic Services by 54% in the fourth quarter, selling 409,432 shares and leaving it with 349,212 shares valued at about $74 million.
• Republic Services reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.70 EPS on $4.11 billion in revenue, both slightly ahead of analyst estimates. Revenue rose 2.6% year over year.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, or $2.50 annualized, for a yield of about 1.2%. The stock also drew mixed analyst views, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.15.

National Pension Service lowered its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 54.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,212 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 409,432 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.11% of Republic Services worth $74,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,107,360 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,384,757,000 after purchasing an additional 49,365 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 409,142 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 114,291 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 76,593 shares during the period. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Republic Services by 4.2% during the third quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 1,353,587 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $310,621,000 after acquiring an additional 54,452 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Republic Services Stock Down 1.7%

RSG opened at $200.32 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $211.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.80. 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 company has a market cap of $61.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.43. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $196.41 and a one year high of $258.75.

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

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services's payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Republic Services from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, May 8th. Argus lowered Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 60,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $213.31 per share, for a total transaction of $12,947,917.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 110,803,982 shares in the company, valued at $23,635,597,400.42. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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