Oak Thistle LLC Makes New Investment in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,281 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,366,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,800,921 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,358,621,000 after buying an additional 168,696 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,964,102 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,377,389,000 after buying an additional 27,920 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,658,978 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $948,971,000 after buying an additional 44,512 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,054,359 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $720,297,000 after buying an additional 197,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,472,223 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $603,465,000 after buying an additional 46,736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RSG traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $189.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,354,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,326. The business's fifty day moving average is $180.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $59.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.68. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.81 and a twelve month high of $192.57.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The business services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 11.57%. Republic Services's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Republic Services's payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.10, for a total transaction of $1,002,608.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,669,303.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on RSG shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Republic Services from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Republic Services from $173.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Republic Services from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Republic Services from $175.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Republic Services from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.17.

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.