Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Stake Cut by Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,800,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,358,621,000 after purchasing an additional 168,696 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,658,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $948,971,000 after purchasing an additional 44,512 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,054,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,297,000 after purchasing an additional 197,654 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,472,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $603,465,000 after purchasing an additional 46,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,790,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $547,473,000 after purchasing an additional 107,499 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.10, for a total transaction of $1,002,608.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,669,303.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of RSG stock traded up $0.79 on Friday, reaching $189.76. 1,576,417 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,184,278. The stock has a market cap of $59.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.68. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $135.33 and a one year high of $192.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.82.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The business services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 11.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Republic Services from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group downgraded Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Republic Services from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Scotiabank started coverage on Republic Services in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Republic Services from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.77.

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.