Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 47,742 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 857,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 47,742 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $172,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Republic Services by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 193,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,884,000 after buying an additional 78,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 592 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on RSG. CIBC upped their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.41.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE:RSG opened at $230.73 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.91 and a 52-week high of $232.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently 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.