HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,635 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,938 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.26% of FactSet Research Systems worth $44,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FDS. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter worth $704,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter worth about $5,731,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,170,000. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,542,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,894,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FDS has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $471.00 to $521.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "inline" rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $450.00.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDS traded down $5.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $478.27. 192,709 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 260,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52-week low of $391.84 and a 52-week high of $499.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $470.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $438.25. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.76.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.77% and a net margin of 24.38%. The business had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.2 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid 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 0.87%. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.93%.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.09, for a total value of $1,365,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,987 shares in the company, valued at $5,910,253.83. The trade was a 18.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total transaction of $6,364,204.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,726,367.25. The trade was a 37.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,984 shares of company stock worth $10,981,107. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.