Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. cut its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,172 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RSG. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 8.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,316,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 12.3% in the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 30.6% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Republic Services by 5.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 28,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 11.3% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 288 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, 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 on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RSG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.38.

Republic Services Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $230.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.03 and a 12-month high of $232.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.43. The firm has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

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.