FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Short Interest Update

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a decline of 13.5% from the February 28th total of 1,630,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 306,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:FDS traded down $10.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $441.25. 177,087 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,404. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $453.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.16. FactSet Research Systems has a 12-month low of $391.84 and a 12-month high of $499.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.22 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FDS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group cut their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $436.27.

Insider Activity

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,084.12. The trade was a 89.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 14.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,614,000 after buying an additional 9,506 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,080,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,894,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,170,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $5,731,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

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.