Sfmg LLC Acquires Shares of 6,972 Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Key Points

• Sfmg LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Republic Services, buying 6,972 shares valued at about $1.48 million.
• Republic Services has also seen notable insider and institutional activity, including Cascade Investment buying 366,000 shares and insiders purchasing nearly 987,150 shares over the last 90 days.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, posted quarterly revenue of $4.11 billion, and announced a $0.625 quarterly dividend payable July 15, yielding about 1.2%.

Sfmg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,972 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $4,384,757,000 after buying an additional 49,365 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Republic Services by 15.2% during 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 buying an additional 409,142 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $617,165,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position 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 worth $466,075,000 after purchasing an additional 114,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $359,695,000 after purchasing an additional 76,593 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 366,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $202.24 per share, with a total value of $74,019,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 110,315,982 shares in the company, valued at $22,310,304,199.68. The trade was a 0.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Republic Services from $253.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus lowered shares of Republic Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.15.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $200.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $61.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $211.11 and its 200 day moving average price 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. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.41 and a twelve month high of $258.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Republic Services Company 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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