Barclays PLC Trims Stock Position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Barclays PLC cut its stake in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,562 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in FirstService were worth $2,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in FirstService during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in FirstService in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in FirstService in the third quarter worth $53,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in FirstService by 158.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Gitterman Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstService during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 69.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstService Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:FSV opened at $175.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 59.10 and a beta of 1.04. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.26. FirstService Co. has a 12 month low of $141.26 and a 12 month high of $197.84.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 17.15% and a net margin of 2.58%. FirstService’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that FirstService Co. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. FirstService’s payout ratio is 38.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FSV. StockNews.com downgraded FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of FirstService from $217.50 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $197.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.00.

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.