Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 767 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 767 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE RSG opened at $234.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.92 and a twelve month high of $240.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued 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 yield of 0.99%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RSG. UBS Group boosted their price target on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. CIBC upgraded Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 price target on Republic Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.