Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,565,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,616 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.46% of Republic Services worth $918,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,740,083,000 after purchasing an additional 144,719 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Republic Services by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,262,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,855,000 after buying an additional 218,729 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,205,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,850 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at $553,039,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $244.66 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $229.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.92 and a twelve month high of $245.00. The stock has a market cap of $76.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on RSG. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cibc World Mkts raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

About Republic Services

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.