FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,170,000 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the June 30th total of 2,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 288,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $500.00 to $407.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $430.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $455.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $464.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $432.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.75, for a total value of $1,238,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,666.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other FactSet Research Systems news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.75, for a total value of $1,238,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,666.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Goran Skoko sold 4,106 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $428.57, for a total transaction of $1,759,708.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,135.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,089 shares of company stock worth $11,460,048. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in FactSet Research Systems by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,571,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,077,267,000 after purchasing an additional 11,974 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,216,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $496,645,000 after buying an additional 10,928 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 368,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $175,919,000 after buying an additional 20,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 355,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $169,512,000 after buying an additional 8,432 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 287,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $137,262,000 after acquiring an additional 9,016 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Down 1.0 %

FactSet Research Systems stock traded down $4.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $408.80. The company had a trading volume of 207,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,866. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $15.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $416.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $440.41. FactSet Research Systems has a 1 year low of $391.84 and a 1 year high of $488.64.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 21st. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.91 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $552.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $552.71 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.48% and a net margin of 23.56%. FactSet Research Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 16.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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.