Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 10,508 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,508 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $10,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RSG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Republic Services by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,988,000 after buying an additional 8,547 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $14,628,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $262,000. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $248.00 price target on shares of Republic Services and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $260.00 to $233.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of Republic Services from $270.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer set a $256.00 price target on Republic Services in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Republic Services from $257.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.41.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE RSG opened at $212.17 on Monday. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.42 and a twelve month high of $258.75. The stock has a market cap of $65.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

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

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, Director Katharine Weymouth acquired 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $209.46 per share, for a total transaction of $100,121.88. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,300.40. This represents a 9.08% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Profile

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.