FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $443.56.

A number of research firms have recently commented on FDS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $464.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $469.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price (down from $480.00) on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $447.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, EVP Goran Skoko sold 6,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.40, for a total transaction of $2,712,226.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,296,336.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.10, for a total value of $1,356,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at $5,838,871.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Goran Skoko sold 6,215 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.40, for a total value of $2,712,226.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,296,336.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,987 shares of company stock valued at $9,083,347. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in FactSet Research Systems by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,571,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,077,267,000 after acquiring an additional 11,974 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in FactSet Research Systems by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,751,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,203,163,000 after acquiring an additional 8,862 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in FactSet Research Systems by 100.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,396,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,515,000 after acquiring an additional 698,611 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in FactSet Research Systems by 15.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 503,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $220,146,000 after acquiring an additional 66,986 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in FactSet Research Systems by 1.6% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 441,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $192,852,000 after acquiring an additional 6,960 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:FDS opened at $427.05 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems has a 1-year low of $380.96 and a 1-year high of $488.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $436.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.53. The firm has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The business services provider reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by $0.39. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 34.36%. The firm had revenue of $545.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.93 million. On average, equities analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is a positive change from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.04%.

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.