Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 4,021 Shares of FirstService Corporation $FSV

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its stake in FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,021 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.26% of FirstService worth $16,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 493.4% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,775,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,307,684 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in FirstService by 18,366.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 719,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,981,000 after purchasing an additional 716,094 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in FirstService by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,367,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,698,000 after purchasing an additional 579,615 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in FirstService in the 4th quarter worth about $85,597,000. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in FirstService by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,984,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $308,677,000 after purchasing an additional 530,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on FSV shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of FirstService in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital began coverage on FirstService in a report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank set a $170.00 price objective on FirstService in a report on Friday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $204.00 price objective on shares of FirstService in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.20.

FirstService Stock Performance

FirstService stock opened at $137.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $139.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. FirstService Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $119.41 and a fifty-two week high of $209.66. The company has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.94.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. FirstService had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 2.88%.The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. FirstService’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FirstService Corporation will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.305 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

FirstService Company Profile

FirstService Corporation, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is a leading provider of property services in North America. The company operates through two principal segments—FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands—offering a broad range of services to residential, commercial and homeowner association clients.

FirstService Residential delivers community management, financial oversight and consulting services to thousands of residential communities across the United States and Canada.