Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 141,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,124 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $28,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Republic Services by 23.2% during 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,316,000 after acquiring an additional 73,207 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Republic Services by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,546,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $509,462,000 after acquiring an additional 25,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Republic Services by 437.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RSG. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE:RSG opened at $235.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $73.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.92 and a fifty-two week high of $240.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $222.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.95.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

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.