Signaturefd LLC Sells 81 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Signaturefd LLC lowered its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $1,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RSG. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 4.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 9.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 132,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,639,000 after purchasing an additional 11,553 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 5.3% in the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 15,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 2.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 33,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,816,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 21.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,828 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services 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 directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Price Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $235.98 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $222.65 and its 200 day moving average is $211.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $73.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $180.92 and a one year high of $240.95.

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. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

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.