Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 379 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 379 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $1,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RSG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised 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 buying an additional 4,827 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 13.0% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,013,000 after purchasing an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth $4,430,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,102,000. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 1,112.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 19,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on RSG. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.56.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:RSG opened at $239.49 on Tuesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.91 and a 12 month high of $240.64. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $216.48 and its 200 day moving average is $210.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The firm 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 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Profile

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.