DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 2,432 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lessened its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 375,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,432 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned about 0.12% of Republic Services worth $86,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 7.3% in the second quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 254,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,772,000 after acquiring an additional 17,280 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Republic Services by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 479,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $116,048,000 after purchasing an additional 43,387 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Republic Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $22,078,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 19,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 88.7% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 58,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,299,000 after purchasing an additional 27,338 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RSG. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Republic Services in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, October 31st. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Republic Services from $270.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.64.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, Director Katharine Weymouth acquired 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $209.46 per share, for a total transaction of $100,121.88. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,300.40. This represents a 9.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock opened at $213.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $65.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.06. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.43 and a 1 year high of $258.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.12. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 18.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 37.20%.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.