Hilton Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 77,793 Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 77,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,624,000. Republic Services accounts for about 1.2% of Hilton Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 15.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Republic Services by 1,112.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 19,698 shares during the period. PGGM Investments raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 264.3% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 8,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 6,415 shares in the last quarter. Natixis lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 78.6% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 27,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,333,000 after purchasing an additional 12,260 shares during the period. Finally, YCG LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. YCG LLC now owns 208,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,821,000 after purchasing an additional 4,428 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE RSG opened at $210.91 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $204.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.44. The firm has a market cap of $66.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.91 and a 1 year high of $216.18.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. William Blair started coverage on Republic Services in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Republic Services from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $1,065,011.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,906.36. This represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.