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

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $285.6923.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FDS. Barclays lowered their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $282.00 to $253.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total value of $760,540.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,920.30. The trade was a 74.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total value of $761,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,037 shares in the company, valued at $307,211.25. This represents a 71.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 683.8% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 33,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,604,000 after purchasing an additional 28,872 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,848,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares in the last quarter. Midway Capital Research & Management acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $304,000. Tobam purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $819,000. Finally, BDFS Capital LLC purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $492,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FDS stock opened at $198.64 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $222.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.75. FactSet Research Systems has a 52-week low of $185.00 and a 52-week high of $474.79.

FactSet Research Systems declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

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.