FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Sells 550 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH decreased its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Republic Services by 437.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,205,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,850 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 83,671.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,183,000 after purchasing an additional 538,010 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after buying an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 544.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 545,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,580,000 after buying an additional 460,989 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.9 %

RSG opened at $213.85 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.99 and a 12 month high of $220.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $209.23 and a 200 day moving average of $204.29. The firm has a market cap of $66.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC upped their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $1,065,011.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,906.36. This represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.