Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Makes New $1.75 Million Investment in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Key Points

• Catalyst Funds Management opened a new position in FactSet Research Systems, buying 6,012 shares valued at about $1.75 million in the fourth quarter.
• FactSet reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.46 versus $4.37 expected and revenue of $611.02 million, up 7.1% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share from $1.10, bringing the annualized payout to $4.64 and a yield of about 2.0%.

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,012 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,745,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FDS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 444,058.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 13,857,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,021,376,000 after buying an additional 13,854,613 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 3,285.3% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 307,923 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,356,000 after buying an additional 298,827 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1,356.3% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 279,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $80,151,000 after buying an additional 260,557 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 159.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,535 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $78,079,000 after buying an additional 167,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 559,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $162,361,000 after buying an additional 150,448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company's stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $232.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.69. The company's 50 day moving average is $218.78 and its 200 day moving average is $245.63. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $185.00 and a twelve month high of $469.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.09. The company 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.65 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is currently 29.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FDS. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $279.85.

About FactSet Research Systems

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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