FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,743 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,041 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.11% of FactSet Research Systems worth $19,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FDS. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $5,882,000. Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $537,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 6,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,173,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

NYSE:FDS opened at $405.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $450.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $464.48. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12 month low of $391.84 and a 12 month high of $499.87. The firm has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. The firm had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $436.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 44 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.