Aberdeen Group plc Sells 7,202 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in FactSet by 20.6% in Q4, selling 7,202 shares and now holds 27,709 shares worth about $8.04 million (≈0.07% of the company).
• Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares on Jan. 12 at an average price of $295.70 — a 74.5% reduction in his holding that leaves him with 879 shares; insiders own roughly 1.2% of the stock.
• FactSet beat the quarter with EPS $4.46 (vs. $4.37) and revenue $611.02M, announced a $600M share buyback (≈5.4% of shares) and a $1.10 quarterly dividend (2.0% yield), but analysts’ consensus remains a "Reduce" with a $279.85 target.

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,709 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,202 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of FactSet Research Systems worth $8,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 5.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,727 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 27.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 972 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 188.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 98 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 58.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 15.6% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,347,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FactSet Research Systems news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total transaction of $760,540.40. Following the sale, the director owned 879 shares in the company, valued at $259,920.30. The trade was a 74.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $222.91 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $212.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.28. The company has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1 year low of $185.00 and a 1 year high of $474.79.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $611.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $604.78 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 30.25%. FactSet Research Systems's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is currently 28.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Huber Research upgraded FactSet Research Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $279.85.

FactSet Research Systems Profile

FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.

The company's core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.

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