Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Stake Lessened by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC reduced its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,078 shares during the period. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $14,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $20,602,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Republic Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,381,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Republic Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the second quarter worth approximately $16,335,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the second quarter worth $7,032,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $259.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Republic Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Republic Services from $233.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.32.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE:RSG opened at $246.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $225.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.86. The stock has a market cap of $75.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.32. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.41 and a 1-year high of $254.39.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.01. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, EVP Brian Bales sold 3,400 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.00, for a total transaction of $829,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,616 shares in the company, valued at $4,298,304. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 324,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $222.89 per share, for a total transaction of $72,396,900.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 117,058,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,091,156,583.16. This represents a 0.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 5,752,798 shares of company stock valued at $1,272,176,181. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Republic Services Profile

Republic Services, Inc provides waste collection, recycling and environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across the United States. Its services include collecting and transporting waste, operating transfer stations and landfills, and processing recyclable materials.

The company also provides environmental solutions, including services for the management and disposal of hazardous and other specialized waste. Republic Services traces its origins to the 1990s and expanded its operations through the 2008 combination with Allied Waste Industries.

Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Republic Services is led by Chief Executive Officer Jon Vander Ark.