Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 126,300 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 29.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 305,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 126,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $66,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RSG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $617,165,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Republic Services by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,857,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,183 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,348,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,133,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,719 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,256,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $497,828,000 after purchasing an additional 913,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Republic Services by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,070,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,513,000 after buying an additional 807,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RSG. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $247.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.89.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock opened at $216.79 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $66.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.86. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.41 and a 12-month high of $246.25.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 366,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $202.24 per share, with a total value of $74,019,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 110,315,982 shares in the company, valued at $22,310,304,199.68. This represents a 0.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total transaction of $380,304.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,254.24. This trade represents a 96.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.