Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,282 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.05% of FactSet Research Systems worth $9,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 5,200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FDS. UBS Group lowered 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, March 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $436.27.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of FDS stock opened at $449.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $454.05 and its 200 day moving average is $464.88. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1-year low of $391.84 and a 1-year high of $499.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $570.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.65 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.22 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084.12. This trade represents a 89.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% 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.