Insider Buying: Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Major Shareholder Purchases 78,150 Shares of Stock

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 78,150 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $197.18 per share, with a total value of $15,409,617.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 109,894,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,669,092,550.76. The trade was a 0.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Cascade Investment, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 13th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 366,000 shares of Republic Services stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $202.24 per share, with a total value of $74,019,840.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 55,000 shares of Republic Services stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $201.78 per share, with a total value of $11,097,900.00.

Republic Services Stock Performance

RSG stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $203.66. 1,912,140 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,749,744. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $215.61 and its 200 day moving average is $215.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $62.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.41 and a 52-week high of $258.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is 36.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Republic Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RSG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth $617,165,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Republic Services by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,183 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Republic Services by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,348,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,133,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,719 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 68.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,256,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $497,828,000 after purchasing an additional 913,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Republic Services by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,070,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,513,000 after purchasing an additional 807,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $246.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $253.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.15.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.