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

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $436.90.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FDS shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares in the company, valued at $19,084.12. This trade represents a 89.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 40,436.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,536,000 after acquiring an additional 429,028 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,128,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,368,000. Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,445,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,096,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $527,411,000 after purchasing an additional 94,668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FDS opened at $426.86 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $440.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $461.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82. FactSet Research Systems has a 52 week low of $391.69 and a 52 week high of $499.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.17 by $0.11. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. The business had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 29.59%.

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.