Argent Trust Co Buys 27 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Argent Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FDS. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the second quarter worth $257,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the second quarter valued at about $829,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the second quarter valued at about $2,988,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,113,000 after purchasing an additional 41,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE FDS opened at $469.94 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1-year low of $391.84 and a 1-year high of $488.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $419.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $428.28. The company has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 21st. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.91 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $552.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $552.71 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.48% and a net margin of 23.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 16.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on FDS shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $464.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America downgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $500.00 to $407.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $455.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $432.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, CTO Katherine M. Stepp sold 1,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $428.42, for a total value of $452,839.94. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 687 shares in the company, valued at $294,324.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CTO Katherine M. Stepp sold 1,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $428.42, for a total transaction of $452,839.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $294,324.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.59, for a total transaction of $1,249,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,259.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,432 shares of company stock worth $5,166,986. Company insiders own 1.00% 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.