O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,515 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $10,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RSG. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 445 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in Republic Services by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 3,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in Republic Services by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 4,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RSG shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus lowered shares of Republic Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.26.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $212.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.41. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $196.41 and a one year high of $253.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $209.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. Analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 36.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 366,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $202.24 per share, with a total value of $74,019,840.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 110,315,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,310,304,199.68. This represents a 0.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Company Profile

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.