Vest Financial LLC Raises Position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 30.8% in Q4 to 170,147 shares, worth about $49.4 million (≈0.46% of the company).
• FactSet beat the quarter's estimates—EPS $4.46 vs. $4.37 and revenue $611.0M vs. $604.8M—with revenue up 7.1% YoY, a net margin of 24.48% and ROE of 30.25%; it pays a quarterly dividend of $1.10 (annualized $4.40, ~2.0% yield).
• Analyst views are mixed: the consensus is a "Reduce" rating with an average target of $279.85, and recent price targets and ratings range from underperform/underweight (~$195–$200) to buy ($380).

Vest Financial LLC grew its position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 170,147 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 40,047 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.46% of FactSet Research Systems worth $49,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 188.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 98 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FDS. 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 objective for the company. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $279.85.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FDS opened at $225.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $215.30 and a 200 day moving average of $252.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 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.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $611.02 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is 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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