Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 7,796 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,796 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $3,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.2% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Republic Services by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 48,268 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,904,000 after purchasing an additional 16,074 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 40,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,257 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 182.9% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 52,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,046,000 after purchasing an additional 34,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the second quarter worth about $1,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Republic Services from $257.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $260.00 to $233.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.10.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $213.38 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.43 and a 52-week high of $258.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $66.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.31.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.12. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.24% and a net margin of 12.77%.The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth acquired 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $209.46 per share, for a total transaction of $100,121.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,300.40. This trade represents a 9.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.