Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 2,311 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Argent Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,311 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $22,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simmons Bank raised its holdings in Republic Services by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Republic Services by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Republic Services by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Republic Services by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Republic Services by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC raised their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.12.

Republic Services Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of RSG stock opened at $209.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $65.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.20. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.06 and a 1 year high of $220.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $1,065,011.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% 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.