AdvisorShares Investments LLC Purchases 2,050 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,643 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the quarter. FactSet Research Systems makes up 1.4% of AdvisorShares Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. AdvisorShares Investments LLC's holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $7,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $413,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 340,494 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $164,653,000 after purchasing an additional 59,173 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter worth $1,481,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 12.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 493,350 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $226,867,000 after purchasing an additional 52,741 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total transaction of $157,443.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084.12. The trade was a 89.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FDS. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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 lowered FactSet Research Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $436.90.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 1.1 %

FDS stock traded up $4.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $434.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 234,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,677. The company's fifty day moving average price is $433.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $459.27. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $391.69 and a twelve month high of $499.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $570.70 million for 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%. FactSet Research Systems's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. This is a boost from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.59%.

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.