Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,426,215 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 280,542 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.77% of Republic Services worth $488,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Republic Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,740,083,000 after acquiring an additional 144,719 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,262,325 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,259,855,000 after purchasing an additional 218,729 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Republic Services by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,565,137 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $918,045,000 after buying an additional 57,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE RSG traded up $0.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $251.12. 145,219 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,096,851. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.19. The stock has a market cap of $78.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.92 and a 1 year high of $252.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RSG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Republic Services from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Republic Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.00.

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.