Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida Purchases Shares of 1,226 Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,157,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Performance

RSG traded down $0.11 on Monday, hitting $200.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 855,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 835,457. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.62. The firm has a market cap of $62.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.71. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.27 and a 12 month high of $220.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. Republic Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RSG. William Blair began coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services 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.