AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Sells 53 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Republic Services by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 4,827 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,013,000 after buying an additional 13,138 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,430,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Republic Services during the third quarter valued at $6,102,000. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 1,112.3% in the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 19,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.38.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $230.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.03 and a twelve month high of $232.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $210.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.43. The company has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $1,065,011.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This represents a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Republic Services

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.