Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires New Holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 48,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,338,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS stock opened at $445.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $417.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $428.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.28. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a one year low of $391.84 and a one year high of $488.64. The firm has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.75.

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. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 34.48%. The company had revenue of $552.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 16.28 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 31.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.98, for a total value of $1,226,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,281,976.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CTO Katherine M. Stepp sold 1,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $428.42, for a total value of $452,839.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $294,324.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the 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 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,432 shares of company stock worth $5,166,986. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

FactSet Research Systems 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.