Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 81,797 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 10.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 673,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81,797 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.21% of Republic Services worth $130,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Unigestion Holding SA boosted its position in Republic Services by 2,178.2% in the fourth quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 127,647 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,048,000 after buying an additional 122,044 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Republic Services by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 214,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,357,000 after acquiring an additional 73,651 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. bought a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,903,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 456,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,297,000 after acquiring an additional 36,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Republic Services by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 591,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $97,496,000 after acquiring an additional 55,668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RSG. StockNews.com cut shares of Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC raised their price objective 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. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,549,832.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG stock opened at $201.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.72. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.23 and a 52 week high of $208.69.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 17.81%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

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

Republic Services Company 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.