Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 77,758 Shares of FirstService Corporation $FSV

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its FirstService stake by 15.7%, purchasing 77,758 shares to own 573,421 shares, or 1.25% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold 69.35% of FSV.
• FirstService reported quarterly EPS of $1.75, beating estimates of $1.71, while revenue reached $1.44 billion, up 2.4% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $184.20 versus the reported share price of $140.89; the company also pays a $0.305 quarterly dividend.

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV - Free Report) TSE: FSV by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 573,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 77,758 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 1.25% of FirstService worth $79,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FSV. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in FirstService by 493.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,775,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $432,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307,684 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in FirstService by 12.9% during the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 2,216,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $422,263,000 after buying an additional 253,155 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in FirstService by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,984,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $308,677,000 after buying an additional 530,489 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstService by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,000,000 after buying an additional 29,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of FirstService by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,791,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $278,247,000 after buying an additional 239,941 shares in the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstService Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSV opened at $140.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $140.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.92. FirstService Corporation has a 1-year low of $119.41 and a 1-year high of $209.66.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The business's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstService Corporation will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.305 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. FirstService's payout ratio is 34.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FSV. Scotiabank set a $170.00 target price on shares of FirstService in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of FirstService in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on FirstService from $199.00 to $192.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstService from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of FirstService in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.20.

About FirstService

FirstService Corporation, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is a leading provider of property services in North America. The company operates through two principal segments—FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands—offering a broad range of services to residential, commercial and homeowner association clients.

FirstService Residential delivers community management, financial oversight and consulting services to thousands of residential communities across the United States and Canada.

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