Sycomore Asset Management Grows Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Sycomore Asset Management boosted its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Sycomore Asset Management’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 351.6% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Republic Services in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Republic Services in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total value of $649,632.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,549,832.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Republic Services Stock Down 1.9 %

RSG stock traded down $4.07 on Thursday, hitting $210.61. 237,614 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,120,349. The stock has a market cap of $65.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $203.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.79. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.83 and a 12-month high of $216.18.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

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.