Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 12.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 137,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,477 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $33,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RSG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 8,547 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Republic Services by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,761,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,543,231,000 after buying an additional 170,548 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in Republic Services during the first quarter worth about $4,271,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,277,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,478,000 after acquiring an additional 11,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $216.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.88. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.43 and a twelve month high of $258.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.12. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 18.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on RSG. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $250.00 to $246.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Republic Services from $260.00 to $233.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Republic Services from $257.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.45.

About Republic Services

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.