Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Price Target Raised to $265.00

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) had its price target increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $239.00 to $265.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on RSG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.75.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $230.73 on Tuesday. Republic Services has a 52 week low of $179.62 and a 52 week high of $232.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $212.44 and its 200-day moving average is $208.27. The company has a market capitalization of $72.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The company 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 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Republic Services will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Republic Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,740,083,000 after purchasing an additional 144,719 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Republic Services by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,262,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,259,855,000 after purchasing an additional 218,729 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Republic Services by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,205,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,850 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Republic Services by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,836,000 after purchasing an additional 499,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,565,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $918,045,000 after purchasing an additional 57,616 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.