Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,249 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $7,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 110.6% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,895 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Republic Services by 17.6% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 12,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 17,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 1,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE RSG opened at $252.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $227.62 and its 200 day moving average is $218.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.41 and a 1 year high of $255.39.

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

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be given 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 of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 37.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 409,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $221.49 per share, with a total value of $90,700,155.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 116,166,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,729,680,431.70. This trade represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 5,240,588 shares of company stock valued at $1,161,649,826. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RSG. Citigroup boosted their target price on Republic Services from $259.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Republic Services from $232.00 to $219.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $235.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Republic Services from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.10.

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.