Principal Securities Inc. Increases Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Republic Services by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 3,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its stake in Republic Services by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 46,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,378,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of RSG opened at $230.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $72.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $212.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.60. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.91 and a 12 month high of $232.52.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 35.75%.

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.