FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Shares Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV - Free Report) TSE: FSV by 112.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 114,620 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.48% of FirstService worth $39,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in FirstService in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Natixis lifted its stake in shares of FirstService by 5,511.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstService by 158.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 728 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstService during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstService during the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstService Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:FSV traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $174.90. The company had a trading volume of 7,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,891. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $170.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. FirstService Co. has a 12-month low of $141.26 and a 12-month high of $197.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.04 and a beta of 1.04.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.08. FirstService had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 17.15%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstService Co. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. FirstService's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of FirstService from $217.50 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of FirstService from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut FirstService from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.33.

FirstService Profile

FirstService Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides residential property management and other essential property services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands. The FirstService Residential segment offers services for private residential communities, such as condominiums, co-operatives, homeowner associations, master-planned communities, active adult and lifestyle communities, and various other residential developments.