FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,940,000 shares, a decrease of 5.4% from the May 31st total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 290,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $377.00 to $419.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $447.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $469.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $432.00.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at $5,281,976.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other FactSet Research Systems news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.98, for a total transaction of $1,226,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at $5,281,976.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 330 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.50, for a total transaction of $138,435.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 72 shares in the company, valued at $30,204. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,419 shares of company stock worth $11,606,013. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,077,267,000 after purchasing an additional 11,974 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,396,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,515,000 after purchasing an additional 698,611 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 503,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $220,146,000 after purchasing an additional 66,986 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 368,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $175,919,000 after purchasing an additional 20,787 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 355,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $169,512,000 after purchasing an additional 8,432 shares during the period. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

NYSE FDS opened at $416.76 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $421.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $446.32. FactSet Research Systems has a 12-month low of $385.27 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 $15.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 21st. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.91 by $0.46. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 34.48%. The business had revenue of $552.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.79 EPS. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems will post 16.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. This is an increase from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

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.