Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,605 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Republic Services were worth $21,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $232.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $180.92 and a one year high of $240.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for 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 period last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts forecast 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.