Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Stake Cut by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,168 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,153 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 8,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at $1,218,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in Republic Services by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 19,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,188,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 103,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,059,000 after buying an additional 26,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on RSG. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $196.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Republic Services from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Republic Services from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.65.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total transaction of $649,632.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at $3,549,832.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.7 %

Republic Services stock opened at $202.06 on Wednesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.65 and a 12 month high of $208.69. The stock has a market cap of $63.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $202.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 12.11%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 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 1.15%. This is an increase from Republic Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 40.70%.

Republic Services 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.