Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 86,133 Shares of Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 86,133 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,077,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Republic Services by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 162 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 409,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $221.49 per share, with a total value of $90,700,155.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 116,166,330 shares in the company, valued at $25,729,680,431.70. This trade represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 5,240,588 shares of company stock valued at $1,161,649,826. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RSG has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank cut their price objective on Republic Services from $270.00 to $258.00 in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Republic Services from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Republic Services from $233.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Republic Services from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $234.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.10.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $252.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.32. Republic Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.41 and a 1 year high of $255.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 12.93%. Republic Services's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.07%.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc. provides waste collection, recycling and environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across the United States. Its services include collecting and transporting waste, operating transfer stations and landfills, and processing recyclable materials. The company also provides environmental solutions, including services for the management and disposal of hazardous and other specialized waste. Republic Services traces its origins to the 1990s and expanded its operations through the 2008 combination with Allied Waste Industries.

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