Stifel Nicolaus Raises FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Price Target to $469.00

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $451.00 to $469.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on FDS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $464.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $455.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of FactSet Research Systems from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $446.67.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

NYSE FDS opened at $465.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $421.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $428.07. FactSet Research Systems has a 12-month low of $391.84 and a 12-month high of $488.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.75.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.48% and a net margin of 23.56%. The company had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems will post 16.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 31.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FactSet Research Systems news, Director Robin Ann Abrams sold 2,375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.71, for a total transaction of $999,186.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,867,587.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.59, for a total value of $1,249,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,259.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robin Ann Abrams sold 2,375 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.71, for a total value of $999,186.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,867,587.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,375 shares of company stock worth $4,714,146. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FDS. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2,873.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,822,000 after purchasing an additional 115,561 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,977,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 272,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,447,000 after acquiring an additional 94,952 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1,844.5% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 45,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,761,000 after acquiring an additional 43,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,113,000 after buying an additional 41,717 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.