Royce & Associates LP Decreases Stake in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its holdings in shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 398,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,308 shares during the quarter. FirstService accounts for about 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.88% of FirstService worth $72,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSV. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in FirstService by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 24,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,461,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in shares of FirstService by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 28,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,136,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of FirstService by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 24,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,443,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Eos Management L.P. lifted its position in FirstService by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 13,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,386,000 after acquiring an additional 4,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in FirstService by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 35,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,456,000 after acquiring an additional 2,380 shares during the period. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.67.

FirstService Stock Performance

FirstService stock opened at $165.45 on Friday. FirstService Co. has a 52 week low of $141.26 and a 52 week high of $197.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.71 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.48 and a 200-day moving average of $182.01.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.04%.

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.