FactSet Research Systems’ (FDS) Sector Perform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

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

Several other analysts have also weighed in on FDS. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $453.69.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $483.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $477.45 and a 200-day moving average of $443.18. FactSet Research Systems has a 1-year low of $391.84 and a 1-year high of $499.87.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $568.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.14 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 $4.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is presently 29.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,819. This trade represents a 84.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total transaction of $6,364,204.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $10,726,367.25. This trade represents a 37.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,984 shares of company stock valued at $10,981,107. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 144.4% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 750.0% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 6,700.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 68 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by 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.