Donaldson Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RSG. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Simmons Bank raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Republic Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Republic Services by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Republic Services by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on RSG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE RSG opened at $233.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.91 and a 1-year high of $240.95. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $219.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.06.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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 company posted $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.