Earnest Partners LLC Lowers Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Earnest Partners LLC lessened its position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,733 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,571 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.18% of FactSet Research Systems worth $28,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,571,550 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,077,267,000 after acquiring an additional 11,974 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,216,461 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $496,645,000 after purchasing an additional 10,928 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 272,973 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $111,447,000 after purchasing an additional 94,952 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264,481 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $120,178,000 after purchasing an additional 9,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1.4% during the second quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 250,028 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $102,079,000 after buying an additional 3,485 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on FDS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $464.00 to $503.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $455.00 to $378.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $446.67.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.75, for a total value of $1,238,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,330,666.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.75, for a total value of $1,238,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,330,666.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $10,726,367.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,362 shares of company stock worth $12,550,615 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE FDS traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $458.41. The stock had a trading volume of 194,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 269,343. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $423.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.79. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1 year low of $391.84 and a 1 year high of $488.64. The stock has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.75.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.16 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is 31.37%.

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.