FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,502 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of FactSet Research Systems worth $19,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 702 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth $2,185,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $464.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America cut FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded FactSet Research Systems to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $455.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $432.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.98, for a total transaction of $1,226,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,281,976.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other FactSet Research Systems news, Director Robin Ann Abrams sold 2,375 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.71, for a total transaction of $999,186.25. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,867,587.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.98, for a total value of $1,226,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,281,976.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,432 shares of company stock valued at $5,166,986 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FDS opened at $426.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $414.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $429.74. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $391.84 and a fifty-two week high of $488.64. The firm has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.91 by $0.46. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.48% and a net margin of 23.56%. The business had revenue of $552.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $552.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 16.29 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.37%.

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.