Baskin Financial Services Inc. Grows Position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Baskin Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 250,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the period. FirstService comprises 3.7% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in FirstService were worth $45,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FSV. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in FirstService by 245.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 338,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,803,000 after buying an additional 240,303 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in FirstService by 2,136.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,853,000 after buying an additional 199,937 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in FirstService by 6.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,733,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,427,000 after buying an additional 174,970 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in FirstService by 4.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,654,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,363,000 after buying an additional 76,503 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Creek Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstService in the first quarter valued at $11,710,000. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstService Stock Up 0.7 %

FSV traded up $1.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $188.27. The company had a trading volume of 19,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 92.57 and a beta of 1.05. FirstService Co. has a 1-year low of $134.77 and a 1-year high of $189.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.85 and a 200-day moving average of $162.89.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 1.73% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstService Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FSV. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $178.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.17.

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.