FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Short Interest Up 11.7% in August

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,290,000 shares, an increase of 11.7% from the August 15th total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 289,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FDS. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $464.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $455.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America downgraded FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $432.27.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of FDS stock opened at $448.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $418.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $428.25. FactSet Research Systems has a one year low of $391.84 and a one year high of $488.64. The firm has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 21st. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.91 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $552.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.71 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 34.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.79 EPS. On average, analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 16.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 31.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.98, for a total value of $1,226,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at $5,281,976.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.98, for a total value of $1,226,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,281,976.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Katherine M. Stepp sold 1,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $428.42, for a total value of $452,839.94. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $294,324.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,432 shares of company stock valued at $5,166,986 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,571,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,077,267,000 after purchasing an additional 11,974 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,216,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $496,645,000 after purchasing an additional 10,928 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 53.3% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 272,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,447,000 after buying an additional 94,952 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 3.9% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $120,178,000 after buying an additional 9,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 250,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,079,000 after buying an additional 3,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% 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.