Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,358 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $22,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 361,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,708,000 after buying an additional 15,056 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 309.6% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 5,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 4,114 shares during the period. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RSG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $173.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Republic Services in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $198.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Republic Services from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.77.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $191.76 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.53. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.33 and a 52 week high of $192.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $60.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.68.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The business services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.13. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.10, for a total transaction of $1,002,608.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,669,303.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.