FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of FactSet Research Systems worth $22,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2,873.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,822,000 after buying an additional 115,561 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,909,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,932,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $888,603,000 after purchasing an additional 42,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,113,000 after purchasing an additional 41,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 9.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 296,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $136,267,000 after purchasing an additional 25,294 shares during the period. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. Redburn Atlantic cut FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “inline” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $453.46.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FDS opened at $491.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $478.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $444.93. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52-week low of $391.84 and a 52-week high of $499.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.77% and a net margin of 24.38%. The business had revenue of $568.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.2 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.09, for a total transaction of $1,365,270.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,910,253.83. The trade was a 18.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,819. The trade was a 84.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.