Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Cuts Stake in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 22.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,532 shares during the period. Republic Services makes up about 1.3% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $13,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. State Street Corp raised its stake in Republic Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,695,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,054,820,000 after buying an additional 166,474 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,857,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899,183 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,490,719 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 18.9% in the 4th 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. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $617,165,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total value of $380,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,254.24. The trade was a 96.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 366,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $202.24 per share, for a total transaction of $74,019,840.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 110,315,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,310,304,199.68. This trade represents a 0.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.89.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $217.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.56. The stock has a market cap of $66.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.41 and a 12 month high of $246.25.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

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.