Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes $1.45 Million Position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 7,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 8,066.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in FirstService by 49.6% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstService during the third quarter worth $66,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in FirstService by 40.6% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstService Price Performance

FSV opened at $185.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.19 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.74 and a 200 day moving average of $167.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. FirstService Co. has a fifty-two week low of $141.26 and a fifty-two week high of $192.71.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 2.19% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that FirstService Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of FirstService from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstService presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.33.

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.