The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Holdings in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 22.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,114,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 619,102 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 4.69% of FirstService worth $386,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in FirstService by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,654,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,363,000 after buying an additional 76,503 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in FirstService by 1.6% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,449,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,555,000 after acquiring an additional 23,082 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in FirstService by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 861,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,323,000 after acquiring an additional 6,863 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in FirstService by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 643,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,033,000 after acquiring an additional 21,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in FirstService by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 388,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,992,000 after purchasing an additional 63,807 shares in the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstService Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ FSV opened at $197.05 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. FirstService Co. has a 52 week low of $141.26 and a 52 week high of $197.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.10 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $184.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.77.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.21. FirstService had a net margin of 2.19% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that FirstService Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. FirstService’s payout ratio is 41.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FSV. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Securities increased their target price on FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstService has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.33.

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.