Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 213,001 Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 213,001 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $42,852,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.07% of Republic Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $553,039,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,827,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 10.4% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 499,237 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 170.6% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 584,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $117,559,000 after acquiring an additional 368,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 548,255 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $110,298,000 after acquiring an additional 350,221 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, April 25th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Republic Services to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Republic Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $250.44.

Republic Services Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of RSG stock traded up $3.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $257.61. 2,680,727 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,138,666. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.92 and a 12 month high of $257.84. The company has a market cap of $80.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company's 50-day moving average price is $244.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.95.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Republic Services's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. Republic Services's payout ratio is 34.99%.

Republic Services Profile

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.