FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Short Interest Down 7.7% in December

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,160,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the November 30th total of 2,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 256,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FDS shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $521.00 to $518.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $453.46.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:FDS traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $480.28. 159,077 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 264,566. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. FactSet Research Systems has a twelve month low of $391.84 and a twelve month high of $499.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $480.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $447.47.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $568.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.14 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.77% and a net margin of 24.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FactSet Research Systems news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 299 shares in the company, valued at $143,819. The trade was a 84.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 2,873.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,822,000 after buying an additional 115,561 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter valued at $38,909,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 493,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $226,867,000 after acquiring an additional 52,741 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,932,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $888,603,000 after acquiring an additional 42,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,113,000 after purchasing an additional 41,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

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.