Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 15,088 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,088 shares during the quarter. Republic Services comprises 1.8% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned 0.07% of Republic Services worth $46,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 8.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,316,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in Republic Services by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the 3rd quarter worth $673,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 17.7% during the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 2,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on RSG. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC increased their target price on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.75.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $230.73 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $212.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.27. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $179.62 and a fifty-two week high of $232.52. The company has a market cap of $72.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 owned by company insiders.

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.