Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Raises Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 58.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,520 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $1,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Republic Services by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,883,000 after buying an additional 1,131,850 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Republic Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $903,316,000 after buying an additional 73,207 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,546,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $509,462,000 after purchasing an additional 25,350 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,255 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC increased their target price on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.25.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock opened at $228.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average is $211.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.96. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $179.62 and a 1 year high of $232.52.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services 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.