NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Lowers Stake in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,773 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,371 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Republic Services were worth $9,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 72,931 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,672,000 after purchasing an additional 28,764 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $790,000. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $266,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 435,835 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $87,681,000 after buying an additional 14,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 329,757 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $66,341,000 after buying an additional 11,128 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RSG shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $229.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.68.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $250.75. 661,699 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,142,267. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.01 and a 52-week high of $258.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.73. The company has a market capitalization of $78.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.99%.

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.