First Bank & Trust Cuts Position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

First Bank & Trust lessened its stake in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in FirstService were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in FirstService during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in FirstService during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstService during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its holdings in FirstService by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank purchased a new position in FirstService during the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSV opened at $152.37 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. FirstService Co. has a 12 month low of $134.77 and a 12 month high of $171.94. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 75.43 and a beta of 1.04.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.01). FirstService had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 2.02%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FirstService Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of FirstService in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of FirstService from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Two investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.60.

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.