Advisors Preferred LLC Purchases New Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,193 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,341,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,255 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,885 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 31,162 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,129,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,726 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,669,303.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG stock traded up $1.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $188.40. The company had a trading volume of 712,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,184,155. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.68. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.81 and a 12 month high of $192.57. The firm's fifty day moving average is $182.48 and its 200 day moving average is $165.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The business services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.83 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RSG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $182.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Republic Services from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Republic Services from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Republic Services from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Republic Services from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $199.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, March 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.17.

Republic Services Company 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.