Earnest Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 7.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,571 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $28,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FDS. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 79,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,854,000 after purchasing an additional 10,763 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 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 through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 9,000 shares of company stock worth $3,714,960 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDS has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $440.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $455.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $464.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $446.67.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDS opened at $455.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $423.72 and its 200 day moving average is $428.46. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52 week low of $391.84 and a 52 week high of $488.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.06 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.16 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is presently 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.