Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 918,714 Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 918,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $184,827,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after acquiring an additional 4,827 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after acquiring an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at $4,430,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,102,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,879,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 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 topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $234.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $218.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.80. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $180.91 and a one year high of $240.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $73.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.