New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,897 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Republic Services worth $88,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on RSG. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG stock opened at $229.59 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.11. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $179.62 and a 52 week high of $232.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $71.90 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.89 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.75%.

Republic Services 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.