Analysts Set Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Target Price at $233.41

Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $233.41.

A number of research firms have commented on RSG. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $231.66 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. Republic Services has a 1-year low of $180.91 and a 1-year high of $234.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Republic Services will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RSG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,740,083,000 after purchasing an additional 144,719 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Republic Services by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,262,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,855,000 after buying an additional 218,729 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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 worth $1,205,883,000 after buying an additional 1,131,850 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,836,000 after buying an additional 499,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,565,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $918,045,000 after acquiring an additional 57,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.