Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,224 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 748,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,224 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Republic Services worth $150,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Republic Services by 351.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Republic Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the second quarter worth $36,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $1,065,011.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RSG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Republic Services from $220.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upped their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.06.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of RSG stock opened at $203.73 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.19 and a 12-month high of $220.58. The company has a market capitalization of $63.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $208.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

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.