Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 947 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $156,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Parcion Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,926,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 3,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in Republic Services by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Republic Services by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 85,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,669,303.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Republic Services from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $199.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $198.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut shares of Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $175.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.77.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $189.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,576,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,184,278. The company has a market capitalization of $59.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.82. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.33 and a 1-year high of $192.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

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

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

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.