Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,329 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $22,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,587,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,376,000 after acquiring an additional 158,491 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 193,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,884,000 after acquiring an additional 78,700 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $233.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $72.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.98, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $213.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.09. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.91 and a 12-month high of $234.03.

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

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

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.