Markel Group Inc. Grows Holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Key Points

• Markel Group boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 121,873 shares worth about $35.4 million.
• FactSet reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.46 per share and revenue of $611.0 million, with revenue up 7.1% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share, while analysts remain cautious overall with a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 121,873 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.33% of FactSet Research Systems worth $35,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE FDS opened at $232.04 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a one year low of $185.00 and a one year high of $469.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.69.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.09. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 30.25%. The business had revenue of $611.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $604.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.28 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FDS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $243.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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, Bank of America started coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $279.85.

FactSet Research Systems Company 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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