Royal Bank of Canada Buys 53,538 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 681,511 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 53,538 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.22% of Republic Services worth $137,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth about $553,039,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth about $184,827,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,069,836,000 after buying an additional 499,237 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 170.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 584,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $117,559,000 after buying an additional 368,395 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 176.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 548,255 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $110,298,000 after buying an additional 350,221 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RSG shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Republic Services from $229.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Republic Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seven 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $250.44.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG traded up $1.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $252.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,074,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,341. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.92 and a 1-year high of $253.76. The stock has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.95, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.99%.

About Republic Services

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.