Willis Investment Counsel Has $27.96 Million Stock Position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Willis Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,210 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,310 shares during the quarter. FactSet Research Systems comprises 1.8% of Willis Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.15% of FactSet Research Systems worth $27,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 7.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,791 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,364,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 6.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 7,749 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 881 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,651 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FDS. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of FactSet Research Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $503.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $453.46.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE FDS traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $468.04. The company had a trading volume of 207,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,978. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1-year low of $391.84 and a 1-year high of $499.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm's 50 day moving average is $474.85 and its 200-day moving average is $455.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.77.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $568.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $565.14 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is 29.82%.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $143,819. This trade represents a 84.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About FactSet Research Systems

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.