CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 22,090 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,090 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.05% of Republic Services worth $32,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Republic Services by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,586,000 after acquiring an additional 4,827 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 72,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,672,000 after purchasing an additional 28,764 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at $4,430,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,879,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth about $790,000. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RSG shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Republic Services from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.13.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $243.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.06. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.92 and a 1-year high of $249.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is 35.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.