Parnassus Investments LLC Trims Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Parnassus Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 467,557 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 20,743 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned 0.15% of Republic Services worth $93,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Republic Services by 15.2% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 19,698 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 264.3% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 8,842 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 6,415 shares in the last quarter. Natixis raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 78.6% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, YCG LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. YCG LLC now owns 208,232 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,821,000 after purchasing an additional 4,428 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC lifted their price target on Republic Services from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Republic Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $224.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG traded up $1.83 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $210.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 905,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,120,746. 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 capitalization of $66.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.70. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $203.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.26. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $157.91 and a twelve month high of $216.18.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Republic Services's payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $1,065,011.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,906.36. This represents a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.