Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Buys 21,231 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 58.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,231 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $9,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 19.4% in the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its holdings in Republic Services by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 96,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,919,000 after purchasing an additional 37,690 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Republic Services by 183.4% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in Republic Services by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Republic Services by 217.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 76,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,539,000 after purchasing an additional 52,104 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RSG shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $173.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG stock traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $187.34. 1,489,069 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,256,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.67. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.07 and a 52 week high of $196.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $188.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.87.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.54%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $184.10, for a total value of $1,002,608.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,669,303.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Republic Services news, CMO Amanda Hodges sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.02, for a total transaction of $1,209,130.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 6,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,270,702.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,002,608.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,669,303.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services 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.