Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 8,454 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,768 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,454 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.05% of FactSet Research Systems worth $9,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 31.0% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 802 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 37.1% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,332 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter worth about $364,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 6.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,243 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded FactSet Research Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $436.90.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS traded up $3.89 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $429.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,995. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1-year low of $391.69 and a 1-year high of $499.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $444.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.50.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $570.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.65 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084.12. This trade represents a 89.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.