KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 12,600 FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,052,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 71,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,752 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,441,000 after purchasing an additional 4,763 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $828,000. Finally, Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,627,000. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. 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 for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $436.27.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084.12. The trade was a 89.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS stock opened at $440.10 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $454.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.84. 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 capitalization of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12-month low of $391.84 and a 12-month high of $499.87.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. The company had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

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.