Nuveen Asset Management LLC Buys 68,476 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 811,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,476 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Republic Services worth $163,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 14,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 4,580 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth $15,853,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Republic Services by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 100,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,300,000 after acquiring an additional 6,399 shares during the period. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,728,000. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Republic Services from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Republic Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.00.

Republic Services Trading Up 2.9%

RSG opened at $244.95 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.92 and a 12 month high of $253.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $240.68 and a 200 day moving average of $223.63. The firm has a market cap of $76.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.05. 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. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio 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.