Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Major Shareholder Purchases $25,028,769.35 in Stock

Key Points

• Cascade Investment, Republic Services’ major shareholder, bought 119,795 shares for about $25.0 million at an average price of $208.93 per share, increasing its stake slightly to more than 110.7 million shares.
• Republic Services reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.70 versus the $1.64 estimate, and revenue of $4.11 billion, up 2.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share payable on July 15, while analysts currently maintain a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $245.15.

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 119,795 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $208.93 per share, for a total transaction of $25,028,769.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,743,282 shares in the company, valued at $23,137,593,908.26. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Cascade Investment, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 18th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 60,700 shares of Republic Services stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $213.31 per share, for a total transaction of $12,947,917.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 307,505 shares of Republic Services stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $207.68 per share, for a total transaction of $63,862,638.40.
• On Monday, May 11th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 78,150 shares of Republic Services stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $197.18 per share, for a total transaction of $15,409,617.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 366,000 shares of Republic Services stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $202.24 per share, for a total transaction of $74,019,840.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 55,000 shares of Republic Services stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $201.78 per share, for a total transaction of $11,097,900.00.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock traded up $6.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $214.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,953,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,832,723. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $214.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.85. 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 one year low of $196.41 and a one year high of $258.75. The stock has a market cap of $65.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.43.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 445 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 10,454 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,216,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,925 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 903 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RSG. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $246.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $253.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.15.

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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