Raymond James Financial Upgrades FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) to Market Perform

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $402.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $448.00 to $452.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $390.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $444.25.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of FDS stock opened at $437.61 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $440.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $450.89. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.86. FactSet Research Systems has a twelve month low of $391.69 and a twelve month high of $499.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 23rd. The business services provider reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.30 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $585.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.70 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 23.30% and a return on equity of 31.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a boost from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 31.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 40,436.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,536,000 after purchasing an additional 429,028 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $69,128,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $66,368,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,795,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,180,160,000 after acquiring an additional 137,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 1st quarter worth about $54,148,000. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.