FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $279.6154.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FDS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 92 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 188.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 98 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, BOKF NA boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 5,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDS opened at $241.74 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems has a twelve month low of $185.00 and a twelve month high of $453.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $230.82 and its 200 day moving average is $243.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.71.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $611.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $604.78 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 30.25%. FactSet Research Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.66 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.84%.

FactSet Research Systems Company Profile

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.