236,401 Shares in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Bought by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 236,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,318,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.53% of FirstService at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,381,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,917,000 after acquiring an additional 16,362 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstService by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,582,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $230,293,000 after acquiring an additional 29,482 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstService by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,367,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,599,000 after acquiring an additional 4,431 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of FirstService by 8.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 699,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,744,000 after acquiring an additional 53,041 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of FirstService during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,488,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of FSV stock opened at $144.46 on Thursday. FirstService Co. has a 12-month low of $134.77 and a 12-month high of $171.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $155.72 and its 200 day moving average is $159.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.52 and a beta of 1.01.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 2.02%. Research analysts expect that FirstService Co. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. FirstService’s payout ratio is currently 49.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of FirstService from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of FirstService in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of FirstService from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $187.00 price objective on shares of FirstService in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.00.

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.