KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 135,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,247,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Republic Services by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Republic Services by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Republic Services by 11.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RSG. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Republic Services Price Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $232.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.90 and a 200-day moving average of $212.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.92 and a 52 week high of $240.95.

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

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.