Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP cut its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 518 shares during the quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,052,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at $287,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 133.2% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 76,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,598,000 after buying an additional 43,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $198.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Republic Services from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group lowered Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $195.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $173.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.77.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.7 %

RSG stock traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $191.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,135,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,355. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.33 and a 52-week high of $192.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.85.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The business services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 11.57%. Republic Services’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.10, for a total transaction of $1,002,608.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,669,303.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Company 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.