Sargent Investment Group LLC Purchases 4,033 Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,033 shares during the quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in FirstService were worth $3,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSV. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of FirstService in the fourth quarter worth $370,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstService by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstService by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of FirstService by 335.8% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of FirstService by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 3,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSV traded down $1.82 on Friday, hitting $149.80. The stock had a trading volume of 82,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,591. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.42. FirstService Co. has a 52-week low of $134.77 and a 52-week high of $171.94.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 2.02%. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstService Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on FSV. Raymond James increased their target price on FirstService from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on FirstService from $196.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Scotiabank began coverage on FirstService in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet cut FirstService from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, FirstService presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

FirstService Company 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.