Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 1,159 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,281 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,159 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Republic Services were worth $8,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $364,449,000 after buying an additional 1,477,255 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% during 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,827,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 509,116 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 544.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 545,613 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $109,580,000 after purchasing an additional 460,989 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other 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 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 approximately $2,376,931.20. This 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 this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock traded down $0.00 on Wednesday, hitting $237.79. 1,554,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,012,908. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.92 and a 52 week high of $240.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the subject of several recent research reports. CIBC raised Republic Services from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.88.

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.