O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,251 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,460 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Republic Services were worth $10,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Republic Services by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,740,083,000 after acquiring an additional 144,719 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,262,325 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,259,855,000 after purchasing an additional 218,729 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Republic Services by 23.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,205,883,000 after buying an additional 1,131,850 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $903,316,000 after buying an additional 73,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RSG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.88.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE RSG traded down $13.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.29. 3,157,638 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,101,438. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.92 and a 12-month high of $249.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $230.70 and a 200 day moving average of $215.14. The company has a market cap of $73.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

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.