Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 351.6% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CIBC increased their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.38.

Republic Services Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of RSG stock opened at $230.98 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.03 and a fifty-two week high of $232.52. The stock has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.06. 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 (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of Republic Services 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 directly owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,906.36. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Company 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.