Sycomore Asset Management Sells 1,661 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Sycomore Asset Management reduced its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 11.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,661 shares during the quarter. Sycomore Asset Management’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Republic Services during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Republic Services by 3,014.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in Republic Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 57.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RSG has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Republic Services from $201.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Republic Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Republic Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $196.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG stock opened at $200.84 on Tuesday. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.23 and a 52 week high of $208.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $202.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.70.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 12.11%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Republic Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 40.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total transaction of $649,632.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at $3,549,832.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.