Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 8.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 559 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Republic Services by 15.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1,112.3% during the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 19,698 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 264.3% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 8,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 6,415 shares during the last quarter. Natixis raised its stake in Republic Services by 78.6% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 27,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,333,000 after purchasing an additional 12,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YCG LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 2.2% during the third quarter. YCG LLC now owns 208,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,821,000 after purchasing an additional 4,428 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RSG. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Republic Services from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair assumed coverage on Republic Services in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Republic Services from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Republic Services from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $208.04 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $65.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.70. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.46 and a 1-year high of $216.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.84 and a 200-day moving average of $198.10.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.24 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

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.