Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Makes New Investment in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,681,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Republic Services by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,254,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,494,714,000 after purchasing an additional 101,518 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Republic Services by 20.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,909,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,100,000 after buying an additional 1,346,588 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at $358,837,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,757,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $341,602,000 after acquiring an additional 35,650 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,476,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $286,868,000 after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total transaction of $649,632.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,549,832.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of RSG opened at $201.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $63.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.70. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.23 and a 52-week high of $208.69.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This is a boost from Republic Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RSG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Republic Services from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $203.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $192.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

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.