Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Decreases Position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,504 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,680 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Republic Services were worth $705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 11.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 675,163 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $135,598,000 after buying an additional 66,842 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,399,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Republic Services by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,065,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Republic Services from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $264.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.00.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Republic Services stock traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $250.42. The stock had a trading volume of 894,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,100,608. The stock has a market cap of $78.26 billion, a PE ratio of 38.59, 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 $252.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $238.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.05. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Republic Services 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.