FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Trading Down 3.4% - Should You Sell?

Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) were down 3.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $472.38 and last traded at $473.05. Approximately 105,457 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 263,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $489.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on FDS. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "inline" rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered FactSet Research Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $453.69.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $476.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $442.24. 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 (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The firm had revenue of $568.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 29.93%.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,819. This represents a 84.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Mcgonigle sold 5,410 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.83, for a total transaction of $2,471,450.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,413,432.89. This trade represents a 50.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,984 shares of company stock worth $10,981,107. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 69.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 5.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,169 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Diversified LLC lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 20.2% during the second quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 638 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 12,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,942,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,820 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $743,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. 91.24% of the stock is currently 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.