Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its stake in FactSet by 71.9% in Q4, selling 72,491 shares and holding 28,401 shares (about 0.08% of the company) worth $8.24 million at quarter-end.
• FactSet reported a quarterly EPS beat ($4.46 vs. $4.37) with revenue up 7.1% year-over-year, pays a $1.10 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.40, 1.9% yield), and analysts project roughly 17.21 EPS for the year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-negative overall: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Reduce” with a consensus target of $279.85, based on 1 Strong Buy, 1 Buy, 9 Hold and 6 Sell ratings.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 71.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,401 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 72,491 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of FactSet Research Systems worth $8,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FDS. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake 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 buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 58.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,347,000 after acquiring 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 Price Performance

FDS stock opened at $232.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.73. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $474.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.34. 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 (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $611.02 million for 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.28 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on FDS shares. Huber Research upgraded FactSet Research Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on 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 lowered their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus 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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