Morgan Stanley Cuts FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Price Target to $390.00

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $409.00 to $390.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on FDS. Wells Fargo & Company cut FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $521.00 to $518.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $441.00.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $433.01 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77. FactSet Research Systems has a one year low of $391.84 and a one year high of $499.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $455.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.69.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.65 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 61,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,472,000 after buying an additional 3,283 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 871.7% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 10,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,203,000 after purchasing an additional 9,719 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth $39,284,000. 91.24% of the stock is 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.