Argo Wealth Advisory LLC Makes New Investment in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Key Points

• Argo Wealth Advisory LLC opened a new position in FactSet (NYSE:FDS) in Q4, buying 5,589 shares valued at about $1.62M, and institutional investors now own 91.24% of the stock.
• FactSet beat the quarter's consensus with EPS of $4.46 (vs. $4.37) and revenue of $611.02M (vs. $604.78M), delivering a 24.48% net margin and 7.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The board authorized a $600.00 million buyback (up to 5.4% of shares) and pays a $1.10 quarterly dividend (~1.9% yield), while analysts' consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average target of $279.85.

Argo Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,589 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,622,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 188.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 98 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 5,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of FDS opened at $231.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12-month low of $185.00 and a 12-month high of $474.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $211.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.73.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $611.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on FDS shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $311.00 to $305.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average 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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