Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 813 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $5,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RSG. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 0.5% during the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 10,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,860 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Republic Services by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Republic Services by 4.0% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Republic Services by 1.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Price Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $201.39 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.28 and a 200-day moving average of $193.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.23 and a 52 week high of $208.69.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is 40.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total value of $649,632.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,549,832.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on RSG. Raymond James cut their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Republic Services from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Republic Services from $211.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Republic Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.