Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 91,729 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 62.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 91,729 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.15% of FactSet Research Systems worth $26,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $174,000. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44 shares in the company, valued at $19,084.12. This represents a 89.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:FDS opened at $432.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1 year low of $391.69 and a 1 year high of $499.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $435.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.80.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.17 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $570.70 million for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDS has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $436.90.

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.