First Trust Advisors LP Has $16.50 Million Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,604 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $16,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after buying an additional 4,827 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 72,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,672,000 after acquiring an additional 28,764 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,430,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth $790,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $233.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Republic Services from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.38.

Republic Services Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE RSG opened at $243.96 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.92 and a 52 week high of $249.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $236.86 and a 200-day moving average of $219.68.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.03. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.99%.

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.