Synovus Financial Corp Cuts Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 668 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth $413,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,003,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 340,494 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $164,653,000 after buying an additional 59,173 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $1,481,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 12.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 493,350 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $226,867,000 after acquiring an additional 52,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company's stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS stock traded up $9.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $422.35. 81,774 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 284,552. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1 year low of $391.69 and a 1 year high of $499.87. The firm's 50-day moving average is $439.89 and its 200 day moving average is $461.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82.

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

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio is 29.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $19,084.12. This represents a 89.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate 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.