FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 559,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 150,448 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 1.51% of FactSet Research Systems worth $162,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 92 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

NYSE:FDS opened at $224.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $218.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.65. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12-month low of $185.00 and a 12-month high of $473.33.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $611.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $604.78 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 30.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. Research analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.65 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is currently 28.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FDS. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $279.85.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.

The company’s core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.