FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $448.46.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FDS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $464.00 to $503.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $440.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI started coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total value of $6,364,204.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,726,367.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total transaction of $6,364,204.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $10,726,367.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.59, for a total value of $1,249,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,259.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,362 shares of company stock valued at $12,688,945 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $47,977,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 52,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,057,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 79,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,854,000 after acquiring an additional 10,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

FDS opened at $457.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $426.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.75. FactSet Research Systems has a 52-week low of $391.84 and a 52-week high of $488.64.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.77% and a net margin of 24.38%. The company had revenue of $562.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.37%.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc, a financial data company, provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company delivers insight and information through the workflow solutions of research, analytics and trading, content and technology solutions, and wealth.