FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a consensus rating of "Reduce" from analysts, with three sell ratings and six hold ratings, while the average 12-month target price is $444.25.
• The company reported $4.27 EPS for the recent quarter, missing analysts' expectations by $0.03 despite a revenue increase of 5.9% year-over-year to $585.52 million.
• A quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share has been declared, representing a 1.2% yield and an annualized total of $4.40 per share.

Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $444.25.

FDS has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $448.00 to $452.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of FactSet Research Systems from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $402.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th.

Insider Activity

In other FactSet Research Systems news, Director James J. Mcgonigle sold 2,925 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.39, for a total transaction of $1,320,315.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,013,650.79. This trade represents a 39.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 2,500 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.60, for a total value of $1,106,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 44 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,474.40. The trade was a 98.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,031 shares of company stock valued at $5,825,481. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 15,549 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,468,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 4,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,374 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 225.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,969 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,827,000 after acquiring an additional 5,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:FDS traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $370.71. The stock had a trading volume of 465,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.83. FactSet Research Systems has a twelve month low of $365.76 and a twelve month high of $499.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $419.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $435.75.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 23rd. The business services provider reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.30 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $585.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.70 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 31.59% and a net margin of 23.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is currently 31.79%.

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.