Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 254 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $16,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RSG. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 33,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,816,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Republic Services by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Republic Services by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 49,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,102,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Republic Services by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % 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

NYSE:RSG opened at $232.95 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.92 and a twelve month high of $240.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.89, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.66.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 firm posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 1.00%. 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.