Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $17,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FDS. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 581.8% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the second quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total transaction of $780,182.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,819. This represents a 84.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDS has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on 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 lowered shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI started coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $453.46.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 0.5 %

FDS opened at $466.63 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12 month low of $391.84 and a 12 month high of $499.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $477.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $453.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.76.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company had revenue of $568.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.12 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.82%.

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.