Prana Capital Management LP Lowers Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Prana Capital Management LP cut its holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 83.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,066 shares during the quarter. Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,481,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 493,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $226,867,000 after buying an additional 52,741 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,882,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,094,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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 report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $436.90.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of FDS opened at $459.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $433.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $458.32. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.88. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52-week low of $391.69 and a 52-week high of $499.87.

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

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This is an increase from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 owns 44 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084.12. This represents a 89.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.