Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 20,358 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,358 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $22,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,658,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $948,971,000 after purchasing an additional 44,512 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,054,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,297,000 after acquiring an additional 197,654 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,790,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $547,473,000 after acquiring an additional 107,499 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,727,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $531,237,000 after acquiring an additional 13,166 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,376,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $338,605,000 after acquiring an additional 109,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.1 %

RSG opened at $191.76 on Tuesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.33 and a twelve month high of $192.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.29 and a 200-day moving average of $169.53. The stock has a market cap of $60.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.68.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The business services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. Republic Services had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Republic Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $198.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group downgraded shares of Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.