FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.04 on December 19th

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of 1.04 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th.

FactSet Research Systems has raised its dividend by an average of 8.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 26 consecutive years. FactSet Research Systems has a payout ratio of 24.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect FactSet Research Systems to earn $18.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.2%.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS opened at $490.89 on Wednesday. FactSet Research Systems has a 12 month low of $391.84 and a 12 month high of $499.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $466.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $435.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.06 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FDS shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. 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 Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $471.00 to $521.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $450.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.59, for a total transaction of $1,249,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,259.85. The trade was a 18.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total transaction of $780,182.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 299 shares in the company, valued at $143,819. The trade was a 84.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,984 shares of company stock valued at $12,230,877 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.