Entropy Technologies LP Purchases 700 Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in FirstService were worth $778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSV. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 1.6% in the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,449,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,555,000 after acquiring an additional 23,082 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in FirstService by 486.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,308,000 after purchasing an additional 389,129 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of FirstService by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 388,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,992,000 after purchasing an additional 63,807 shares during the last quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 250,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,737,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 246,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,008,000 after purchasing an additional 49,790 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Stock Performance

Shares of FSV stock opened at $174.10 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $182.63 and its 200 day moving average is $182.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.62 and a beta of 1.06. FirstService Co. has a 12 month low of $141.26 and a 12 month high of $197.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is an increase from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James increased their price objective on FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstService currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.67.

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.