Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Holdings in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,524 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in FirstService were worth $7,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of FirstService during the 4th quarter valued at about $98,615,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstService by 486.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,308,000 after purchasing an additional 389,129 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of FirstService during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,541,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in FirstService by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 457,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,138,000 after buying an additional 166,996 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in FirstService by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 543,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,380,000 after buying an additional 144,234 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FSV shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstService presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.67.

FirstService Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of FSV opened at $166.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.07 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.36 and a 200 day moving average of $180.09. FirstService Co. has a 1-year low of $141.26 and a 1-year high of $197.84.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is 37.04%.

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.