FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $453.23.

FDS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $521.00 to $518.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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 note on Friday, December 20th.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS opened at $455.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. FactSet Research Systems has a 52-week low of $391.84 and a 52-week high of $499.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $467.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.95. The company has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $568.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.14 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $38,909,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 7,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. 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.