FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS Shares Sold by Danske Bank A S

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S cut its stake in FactSet by 96.6% in Q4, selling 21,120 shares and leaving 740 shares valued at about $215,000.
• Analyst sentiment has weakened with MarketBeat showing an average rating of “Reduce” (1 Strong Buy, 1 Buy, 9 Hold, 6 Sell) and an average price target of $279.85, while several firms have lowered targets (e.g., RBC to $243, Barclays to $210; BofA initiated at $195).
• FactSet beat quarterly estimates (EPS $4.46 vs. $4.37; revenue $611.02M, +7.1% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 ($4.64 annualized, ~2.2% yield).

Danske Bank A S decreased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 96.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 740 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,120 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S's holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,071,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 3,928 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 112 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 92 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $243.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America initiated coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Evercore lifted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $279.85.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $211.67 on Thursday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $474.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.82.

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. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 30.25% and a net margin of 24.48%.The firm had revenue of $611.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $604.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This is a boost from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is presently 28.30%.

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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