Bensler LLC Cuts Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Bensler LLC reduced its stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $4,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Republic Services by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,850 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Republic Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $903,316,000 after acquiring an additional 73,207 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Republic Services by 19.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 509,116 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Republic Services by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,520,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $506,265,000 after acquiring an additional 57,040 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Republic Services Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of RSG opened at $215.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $67.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.83 and a 1 year high of $220.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. Republic Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % 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.