Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 85,819 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,048,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 85,819 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $421,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,507,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,316,000 after purchasing an additional 73,207 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Republic Services by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,520,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $506,265,000 after buying an additional 57,040 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted 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 worth $364,449,000 after buying an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 5.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,808,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,480,000 after acquiring an additional 92,013 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

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

Republic Services Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE RSG opened at $208.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.53 and a 200-day moving average of $201.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.65 and a 1-year high of $220.58. The firm has a market cap of $65.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.71.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.06.

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.