Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 562,826 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the previous session’s volume of 1,157,784 shares.The stock last traded at $201.99 and had previously closed at $202.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $196.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.00.

Republic Services Stock Performance

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 $202.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.99. The stock has a market cap of $63.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued 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 yield of 1.15%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at $3,549,832.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the first quarter valued at $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 3,014.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in Republic Services during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

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.