Forsta AP Fonden Increases Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $11,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RSG. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in Republic Services by 13.0% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,013,000 after purchasing an additional 13,138 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth about $4,430,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,102,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 1,112.3% during the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 19,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $1,065,011.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on RSG. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.24.

Republic Services Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of RSG stock opened at $218.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.83 and a 1 year high of $220.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $209.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.50.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

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.