Short Interest in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Drops By 7.7%

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,160,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the November 30th total of 2,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 256,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.4 days.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Down 0.5 %

FactSet Research Systems stock traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $480.28. The stock had a trading volume of 159,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,566. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76. FactSet Research Systems has a fifty-two week low of $391.84 and a fifty-two week high of $499.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $480.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $447.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The business had revenue of $568.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.12 EPS. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total transaction of $780,182.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 299 shares in the company, valued at $143,819. This trade represents a 84.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FDS. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 120,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,621,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,001,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $460,467,000 after purchasing an additional 8,376 shares during the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 11.6% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FDS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $453.46.

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.