Strong Tower Advisory Services Raises Position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $2,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Verity & Verity LLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 3,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 25,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 8,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total value of $780,182.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,819. This represents a 84.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $453.46.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

FDS opened at $462.64 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $391.84 and a twelve month high of $499.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $480.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $451.95.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $568.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.14 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.82%.

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.