Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV - Free Report) TSE: FSV by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,582,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,482 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 3.55% of FirstService worth $230,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in FirstService by 126.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada bought a new stake in shares of FirstService in the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. bought a new stake in shares of FirstService in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in FirstService by 28.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in FirstService in the third quarter worth approximately $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.35% of the company's stock.

FirstService Stock Down 0.5 %

FirstService stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $165.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 65,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,719. FirstService Co. has a 52-week low of $134.77 and a 52-week high of $171.94. The company has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 74.02 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The firm's 50 day moving average is $166.24 and its 200 day moving average is $157.57.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.04). FirstService had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 2.32%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that FirstService Co. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from FirstService's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. FirstService's payout ratio is currently 44.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on FirstService from $196.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded FirstService from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on FirstService from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet downgraded FirstService from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of FirstService from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FirstService has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.29.

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. The company operates in two segments, FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands. The FirstService Residential segment offers property management 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.