National Bank of Canada FI Buys 2,976 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,976 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.08% of FactSet Research Systems worth $14,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 5,200.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares in the company, valued at $19,084.12. This trade represents a 89.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on FDS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $436.27.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:FDS opened at $415.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $451.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.70. The stock has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $391.84 and a twelve month high of $499.87.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $4.22 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

FactSet Research Systems 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.