Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 54.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 181,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 215,405 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.06% of Republic Services worth $35,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unigestion Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 2,178.2% during the 4th quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 127,647 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,048,000 after purchasing an additional 122,044 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Republic Services by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 214,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,357,000 after purchasing an additional 73,651 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 456,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,297,000 after buying an additional 36,484 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Republic Services by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 591,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $97,496,000 after acquiring an additional 55,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Republic Services by 123.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 38,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,410,000 after acquiring an additional 21,481 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Republic Services from $201.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Republic Services from $211.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Republic Services from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Republic Services from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Republic Services Stock Performance

RSG opened at $201.39 on Friday. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.79. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.23 and a 1-year high of $208.69.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 12.11%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.18 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This is a boost from Republic Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is 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.