Northern Trust Corp Acquires 48,444 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 398,180 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 48,444 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.05% of FactSet Research Systems worth $191,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $174,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total transaction 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 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FDS traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $433.54. 126,964 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,046. The company's 50-day moving average price is $433.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.18. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1-year low of $391.69 and a 1-year high of $499.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is an increase from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is presently 31.29%.

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.