Renasant Bank Lowers Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Renasant Bank reduced its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 44.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,856 shares during the period. Renasant Bank’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,205,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,850 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Republic Services by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,316,000 after purchasing an additional 73,207 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after buying an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,546,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $509,462,000 after buying an additional 25,350 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Republic Services by 437.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.7 %

Republic Services stock opened at $229.08 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.91 and a twelve month high of $240.95. 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 $221.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 35.75%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

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.