Bridges Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 9,716 Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,254,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,494,714,000 after purchasing an additional 101,518 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Republic Services by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,909,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,514,100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,588 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Republic Services by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,757,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $341,602,000 after acquiring an additional 35,650 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,476,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $286,868,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 16.9% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,262,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $241,697,000 after purchasing an additional 182,645 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total transaction of $649,632.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,549,832.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $201.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $202.28 and its 200 day moving average is $193.72. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.23 and a 12-month high of $208.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $63.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.70.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Republic Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 40.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on RSG shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Republic Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $196.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.00.

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.