Magellan Asset Management Ltd Reduces Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 802,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 138,805 shares during the quarter. Republic Services makes up approximately 1.8% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.26% of Republic Services worth $161,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Republic Services by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 1,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of RSG opened at $244.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $76.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.92 and a twelve month high of $245.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

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.