Franklin Resources Inc. Has $87.31 Million Stock Holdings in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 486.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 469,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 389,129 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.04% of FirstService worth $87,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSV. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 19.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 388,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,992,000 after buying an additional 63,807 shares during the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 99.9% in the second quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 9,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after buying an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 8.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,427,000 after buying an additional 14,579 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 0.8% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 861,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,323,000 after buying an additional 6,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 33.4% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 17,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,628,000 after buying an additional 4,318 shares during the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstService Price Performance

FirstService stock opened at $188.05 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $188.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.60. FirstService Co. has a one year low of $141.26 and a one year high of $197.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 78.35 and a beta of 1.04.

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

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. FirstService’s payout ratio is 41.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on FSV. TD Securities lifted their price target on FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.33.

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.