Marshall Wace LLP Acquires 5,518 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 225.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,969 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,518 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $3,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $69,128,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,096,592 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $527,411,000 after buying an additional 94,668 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 4,104.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 76,438 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,712,000 after buying an additional 74,620 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 456,149 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $219,079,000 after buying an additional 66,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,975,000. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FDS shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered 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 objective on 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $503.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $436.90.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE FDS traded up $1.11 on Thursday, hitting $433.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,342. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a PEG 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's 50-day simple moving average is $435.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is a boost from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

FactSet Research Systems Company 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.