Argent Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management cut its Republic Services stake by 10.2% in the first quarter, selling 10,963 shares and retaining 96,106 shares valued at approximately $21.05 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.73% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $243.89, compared with the stock’s recent price of $210.75.
• Republic Services exceeded first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting $1.70 in EPS and $4.11 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 2.6% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.67, implying a 1.3% annualized yield.

Argent Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,106 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,963 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Republic Services were worth $21,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BankChampaign National Association bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $330,000. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 0.6% during the first quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 27,570 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,038,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 75.3% during the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 22,297 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,883,000 after buying an additional 9,579 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 56,463 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,364,000 after buying an additional 1,761 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 1,400 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on RSG shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Republic Services from $242.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.89.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total value of $380,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,254.24. This trade represents a 96.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 60,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $213.31 per share, for a total transaction of $12,947,917.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,803,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,635,597,400.42. This represents a 0.05% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $210.75 on Friday. Republic Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.41 and a fifty-two week high of $238.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $64.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $212.57 and a 200 day moving average of $214.98.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Republic Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Republic Services's payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic's core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.

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