Brokerages Set FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) PT at $279.85

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $279.8462.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summitry LLC acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $228,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 842,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $182,861,000 after buying an additional 212,022 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $244,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council boosted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 1,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of FDS stock opened at $232.04 on Tuesday. FactSet Research Systems has a 12-month low of $185.00 and a 12-month high of $469.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $219.34 and a 200-day moving average of $245.27.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.09. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 30.25%. The company had revenue of $611.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $604.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.30%.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.

The company’s core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.