Short Interest in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Decreases By 7.1%

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, a drop of 7.1% from the October 31st total of 2,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 281,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FDS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $450.00.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of FDS stock traded down $3.72 on Tuesday, reaching $485.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 208,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,536. The company has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.76. FactSet Research Systems has a 12-month low of $391.84 and a 12-month high of $499.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $469.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $437.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The company had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total transaction of $780,182.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 299 shares in the company, valued at $143,819. The trade was a 84.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Mcgonigle sold 5,410 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.83, for a total transaction of $2,471,450.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,413,432.89. The trade was a 50.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,984 shares of company stock valued at $10,981,107 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 134.1% in the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 45,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 214.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 225.1% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 11.6% in the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,518,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.