Hartford Investment Management Co. Reduces Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 23.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,205,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,850 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,316,000 after acquiring an additional 73,207 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Republic Services by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 2.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,520,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $506,265,000 after acquiring an additional 57,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Republic Services by 437.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $223.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $69.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $210.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.23 and a 1 year high of $224.45.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CIBC upped their target price on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.38.

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.