AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 60,881 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK cut its Republic Services stake by 41.6% in the third quarter, selling 60,881 shares and ending the period with 85,458 shares valued at about $17.9 million.
• Republic Services beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.94 per share and $4.56 billion in revenue; revenue rose 8.2% year over year.
• Analysts give the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $249.32. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc cut its position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,458 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 60,881 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Republic Services were worth $17,935,000 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. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.5% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 903 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 162 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. grew its stake in Republic Services by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 1,944 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 409,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $221.49 per share, with a total value of $90,700,155.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 116,166,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,729,680,431.70. This trade represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders acquired a total of 5,752,798 shares of company stock valued at $1,272,176,181 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on RSG. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Republic Services from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $240.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $235.00 price objective on Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.32.

Republic Services Price Performance

Republic Services stock opened at $246.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.86. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.41 and a 52 week high of $254.39.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.56%. Republic Services's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, January 4th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.07%.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc provides waste collection, recycling and environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across the United States. Its services include collecting and transporting waste, operating transfer stations and landfills, and processing recyclable materials.

The company also provides environmental solutions, including services for the management and disposal of hazardous and other specialized waste. Republic Services traces its origins to the 1990s and expanded its operations through the 2008 combination with Allied Waste Industries.

Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Republic Services is led by Chief Executive Officer Jon Vander Ark.

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