CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Cuts Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,225 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,622 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $8,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter worth about $403,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 9.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 92.8% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,336 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 5.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,314 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,687,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,084.12. This trade represents a 89.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on FDS shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded FactSet Research Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $503.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $436.90.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

FDS traded down $3.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $424.69. 151,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 284,432. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52-week low of $391.69 and a 52-week high of $499.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company's fifty day moving average price is $437.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.45.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. The business had revenue of $570.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $570.65 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.59%.

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.