Republic Services, Inc. $RSG Shares Sold by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,515 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $10,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,107,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,384,757,000 after buying an additional 49,365 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,857,698,000 after buying an additional 1,899,183 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Republic Services by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,098,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $711,003,000 after purchasing an additional 409,142 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $617,165,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Republic Services by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,031,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $466,075,000 after purchasing an additional 114,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE RSG opened at $212.65 on Thursday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.41 and a 12 month high of $253.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $209.27 and a 200-day moving average of $214.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.41.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In related news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 366,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $202.24 per share, with a total value of $74,019,840.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,315,982 shares in the company, valued at $22,310,304,199.68. The trade was a 0.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RSG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.26.

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.