Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 173,326 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 47.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,056 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 173,326 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.06% of Republic Services worth $38,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Republic Services by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,121,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 125.7% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 7,075 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,069,836,000 after purchasing an additional 499,237 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Republic Services by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 579,379 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $116,456,000 after purchasing an additional 27,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Republic Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,825,175 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $367,192,000 after buying an additional 10,562 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. CIBC raised Republic Services from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $264.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.00.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:RSG traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $247.66. 294,589 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,113,764. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. Republic Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.92 and a 12 month high of $249.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $237.54 and a 200 day moving average of $220.16.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.05. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Republic Services's payout ratio is 34.99%.

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.