Sowell Financial Services LLC Takes Position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 764 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 31.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on FDS. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $470.00 to $448.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut FactSet Research Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $445.25.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:FDS traded down $2.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $422.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 763,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,083. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $391.69 and a fifty-two week high of $499.87. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $440.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.83. The company has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.86.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 32.91% and a net margin of 24.07%. The business had revenue of $570.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $570.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a positive change from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total transaction of $157,443.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,084.12. This trade represents a 89.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc, a financial data company, provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company delivers insight and information through the workflow solutions of research, analytics and trading, content and technology solutions, and wealth.