Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,556 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $8,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the first quarter valued at about $332,000. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Republic Services by 11.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 57,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,000,000 after acquiring an additional 5,744 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 7.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,565,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 235.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 255,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,819,000 after acquiring an additional 178,969 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. CIBC lifted their price target on Republic Services from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Republic Services from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Republic Services from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Republic Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $207.07 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $203.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.49 and a fifty-two week high of $208.69. The company has a market capitalization of $64.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.70.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly 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 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%. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total value of $649,632.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,549,832.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Company 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.