Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 2,904 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 22.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,013 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,904 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $3,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Republic Services in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in Republic Services by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Republic Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock opened at $231.66 on Thursday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.91 and a 52 week high of $234.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

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.