Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RSG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,590,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,740,083,000 after buying an additional 144,719 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Republic Services by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,262,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,855,000 after purchasing an additional 218,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Republic Services by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,565,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $918,045,000 after purchasing an additional 57,616 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $553,039,000. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Republic Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.13.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $243.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $235.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.18. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.92 and a 52-week high of $249.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is 35.75%.

Republic Services 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.