Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 221 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $6,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Republic Services during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on RSG. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC upgraded Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Republic Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.88.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.6 %

RSG opened at $238.37 on Monday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.92 and a 12 month high of $241.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $227.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.86. The firm has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.