FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Reduce" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $450.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on FDS. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday. Redburn Atlantic lowered FactSet Research Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $471.00 to $521.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total transaction of $780,182.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total value of $6,364,204.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,726,367.25. This represents a 37.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,984 shares of company stock valued at $12,230,877. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,571,550 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,077,267,000 after buying an additional 11,974 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,932,376 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $888,603,000 after acquiring an additional 42,303 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in FactSet Research Systems by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,216,461 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $496,645,000 after buying an additional 10,928 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 373,386 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $171,702,000 after purchasing an additional 4,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 9.3% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 296,329 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $136,267,000 after acquiring an additional 25,294 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company's stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FDS traded down $11.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $483.90. The stock had a trading volume of 375,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,203. The company has a 50 day moving average of $460.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $433.15. The firm has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.75. 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 has a twelve month low of $391.84 and a twelve month high of $499.87.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $562.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.06 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.77% and a net margin of 24.38%. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.93%.

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.