FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Given “Sector Perform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $503.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

FDS has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $471.00 to $521.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $450.00.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Down 2.4 %

FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $483.90 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems has a fifty-two week low of $391.84 and a fifty-two week high of $499.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $461.60 and its 200-day moving average is $433.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.77% and a net margin of 24.38%. The firm had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.2 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total value of $780,182.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,819. This represents a 84.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.59, for a total transaction of $1,249,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,259.85. This trade represents a 18.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,984 shares of company stock worth $12,230,877 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FDS. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $48,822,000 after purchasing an additional 115,561 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 272,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,447,000 after buying an additional 94,952 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,909,000. State Street Corp increased its position in 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 valued at $888,603,000 after acquiring an additional 42,303 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,113,000 after acquiring an additional 41,717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.