Buckhead Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $3,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RSG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,586,000 after acquiring an additional 4,827 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 13.0% in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter worth $4,430,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,102,000. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 19,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $224.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.92, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.30 and a 1-year high of $224.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $210.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $1,065,011.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,906.36. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.38.

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.