Woodline Partners LP Increases Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 344.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,282 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 174.4% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 20,732 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,957,000 after acquiring an additional 7,552 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 871.7% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 10,834 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,203,000 after acquiring an additional 9,719 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,410 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,441,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,657,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total transaction of $157,443.99. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084.12. This trade represents a 89.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of FactSet Research Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $440.22.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDS traded down $8.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $457.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 554,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,057. The company has a 50-day moving average of $440.66 and a 200-day moving average of $457.92. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12 month low of $391.69 and a 12 month high of $499.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.88.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.17 by $0.11. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company had revenue of $570.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $570.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.22 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a boost from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.29%.

FactSet Research Systems Company Profile

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.