World Investment Advisors Purchases Shares of 538 FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 538 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 37.1% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $364,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 6.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 6.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 8.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,273,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 7.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FDS opened at $427.53 on Thursday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52 week low of $391.69 and a 52 week high of $499.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $445.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.01.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total transaction 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 $19,084.12. This represents a 89.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, March 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $436.27.

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.