FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Receives Sector Perform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $503.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $471.00 to $521.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $450.00.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

FactSet Research Systems stock traded down $11.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $483.90. 375,391 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 263,203. The stock has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. FactSet Research Systems has a fifty-two week low of $391.84 and a fifty-two week high of $499.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $461.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $433.57.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $562.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.06 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.2 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.59, for a total transaction of $1,249,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,259.85. This represents a 18.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Mcgonigle sold 5,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.83, for a total transaction of $2,471,450.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,413,432.89. This represents a 50.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,984 shares of company stock worth $12,230,877. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 998 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 4.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 46,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $2,077,267,000 after acquiring an additional 11,974 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.