FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $453.23.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 1.6 %

FDS stock opened at $461.93 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems has a one year low of $391.84 and a one year high of $499.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $466.78 and a 200-day moving average of $461.82.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released 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. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company had revenue of $568.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $565.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is currently 29.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $413,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,001,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $460,467,000 after acquiring an additional 8,376 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 1.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 120,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 340,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $164,653,000 after buying an additional 59,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% 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.