Foster & Motley Inc. Purchases New Shares in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Republic Services by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in Republic Services by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Republic Services by 217.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 76,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,539,000 after buying an additional 52,104 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG raised its holdings in Republic Services by 65.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 34,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,917,000 after buying an additional 13,700 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,993,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Republic Services from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $199.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Republic Services from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Republic Services from $173.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of the business’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 value of $1,002,608.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,669,303.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.8 %

Republic Services stock opened at $193.52 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $135.33 and a one year high of $193.82. The stock has a market cap of $60.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $187.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.17.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The business services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

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.