Synovus Financial Corp Increases Holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 1.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $2,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $364,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Republic Services by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,850 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 83,671.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,183,000 after purchasing an additional 538,010 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 544.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 545,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,580,000 after purchasing an additional 460,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Republic Services by 169.3% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 554,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,366,000 after buying an additional 348,600 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on RSG shares. William Blair began coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $208.97 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $208.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.84. The stock has a market cap of $65.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.71. Republic Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.65 and a 52-week high of $220.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

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 analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

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.