Lazard Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV - Free Report) TSE: FSV during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $654,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in FirstService by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 457,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,138,000 after buying an additional 166,996 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in FirstService by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 64,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,675,000 after purchasing an additional 18,977 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in FirstService by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 258,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,839,000 after purchasing an additional 50,265 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. acquired a new stake in FirstService in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,816,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of FirstService in the 4th quarter valued at about $308,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of FirstService from $217.50 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of FirstService from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstService from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.33.

FirstService Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSV traded up $0.70 during trading on Monday, hitting $173.06. 66,298 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,952. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.27 and a beta of 1.04. FirstService Co. has a 1 year low of $141.26 and a 1 year high of $197.84. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $170.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

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

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. FirstService's payout ratio is 38.06%.

About FirstService

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.