Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Sold by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 150,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 71,041 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $31,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at $323,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 22,492 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,767,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 95.5% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 255,439 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,323,000 after purchasing an additional 124,808 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 10,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,309,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 60,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,755,000 after buying an additional 24,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RSG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.26.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total value of $380,304.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 58 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,254.24. This represents a 96.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 366,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $202.24 per share, for a total transaction of $74,019,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,315,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,310,304,199.68. The trade was a 0.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE RSG opened at $207.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.45. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.41 and a 12 month high of $252.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. Republic Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

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.