FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Shares Down 4.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) fell 4.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $173.95 and last traded at $172.80. 54,261 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 117,762 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FSV. Raymond James increased their price objective on FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank increased their target price on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.67.

FirstService Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $183.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.10 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.67%.

Institutional Trading of FirstService

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FSV. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in FirstService by 486.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,308,000 after buying an additional 389,129 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in FirstService in the fourth quarter worth about $48,541,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in FirstService by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 457,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,138,000 after buying an additional 166,996 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in FirstService by 19.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 388,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,992,000 after buying an additional 63,807 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in FirstService by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 258,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,839,000 after buying an additional 50,265 shares during the period. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstService Company 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.