Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $15,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RSG. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,850 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,316,000 after purchasing an additional 73,207 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,546,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $509,462,000 after buying an additional 25,350 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 437.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after buying an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $230.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.91 and a 1-year high of $232.52. The stock has a market cap of $72.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $212.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.65.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 35.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

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.