Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 462 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 462 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Republic Services by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,000 after buying an additional 2,961 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 14.7% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 50,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,042,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 6.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Finally, First American Bank grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.6% in the third quarter. First American Bank now owns 32,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,617,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on RSG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $232.67 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $213.36 and its 200 day moving average is $208.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.66 billion, a PE ratio of 35.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.91 and a 1 year high of $233.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

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.