FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 61.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,469 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $2,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $436.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,084.12. The trade was a 89.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE FDS opened at $470.34 on Wednesday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a one year low of $391.69 and a one year high of $499.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $436.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $458.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.88.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $570.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 31.29%.

FactSet Research Systems Profile

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.