FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS – Get Rating) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $448.86.

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A number of research analysts have weighed in on FDS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $415.00 to $408.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group raised shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $485.00 to $500.00 in a report on Thursday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $477.00 to $454.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 2nd.

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FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS stock opened at $398.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $419.40 and its 200 day moving average is $422.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. FactSet Research Systems has a 52-week low of $345.92 and a 52-week high of $474.13.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $515.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $510.79 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 41.53%. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 27th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 30.90%.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.91, for a total transaction of $1,238,730.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 8,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,405,268.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FDS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,298,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,866,025,000 after purchasing an additional 52,604 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,988,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $863,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32,550 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 171.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 718,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $288,185,000 after acquiring an additional 453,799 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 508,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $209,468,000 after acquiring an additional 109,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $191,770,000 after buying an additional 84,788 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About FactSet Research Systems

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FactSet Research Systems Inc (the “”Company”” or “”FactSet””) is a global provider of integrated financial information, analytical applications and services for the investment and corporate communities. Since inception, global financial professionals have utilized the Company’s content and multi-asset class solutions across each stage of the investment process.