Arizona State Retirement System Has $12.64 Million Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 62,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $12,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,230,000. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Republic Services by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 25,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,129,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in Republic Services by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 131.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,532,000 after purchasing an additional 24,091 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 10,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on RSG. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

Republic Services Stock Down 1.9 %

RSG opened at $231.33 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $218.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.60. The company has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74.

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 firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.