Palisade Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $1,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2,873.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,822,000 after acquiring an additional 115,561 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 272,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,447,000 after purchasing an additional 94,952 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,909,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,113,000 after purchasing an additional 41,717 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 296,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $136,267,000 after buying an additional 25,294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FDS shares. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $450.00.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FDS stock opened at $487.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $466.05 and a 200-day moving average of $435.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12 month low of $391.84 and a 12 month high of $499.87.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $562.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.06 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is currently 29.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total value of $780,182.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,819. This represents a 84.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total value of $6,364,204.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,726,367.25. This trade represents a 37.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,984 shares of company stock worth $12,230,877. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FactSet Research Systems Company Profile

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.