Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Major Shareholder Acquires $25,028,769.35 in Stock

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 119,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $208.93 per share, for a total transaction of $25,028,769.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 110,743,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,137,593,908.26. This represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Cascade Investment, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 18th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 60,700 shares of Republic Services stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $213.31 per share, for a total transaction of $12,947,917.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 307,505 shares of Republic Services stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $207.68 per share, for a total transaction of $63,862,638.40.
• On Monday, May 11th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 78,150 shares of Republic Services stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $197.18 per share, for a total transaction of $15,409,617.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 366,000 shares of Republic Services stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $202.24 per share, for a total transaction of $74,019,840.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 55,000 shares of Republic Services stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $201.78 per share, for a total transaction of $11,097,900.00.

Republic Services Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Republic Services stock traded up $6.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $214.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,953,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,832,723. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.85. The company has a market capitalization of $65.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.41 and a 1 year high of $258.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.87%.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth $617,165,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,857,698,000 after buying an additional 1,899,183 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,348,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,133,509,000 after buying an additional 1,490,719 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 68.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,256,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $497,828,000 after buying an additional 913,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,070,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,074,513,000 after buying an additional 807,525 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on RSG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $253.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.15.

Republic Services Company Profile

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.