First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Increases Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 702 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FDS. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,396,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,515,000 after buying an additional 698,611 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 671.0% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 243,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,617,000 after purchasing an additional 212,204 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,288,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 503,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $220,146,000 after purchasing an additional 66,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $81,723,000 after buying an additional 57,502 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $430.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $377.00 to $419.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $447.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $469.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $442.70.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:FDS opened at $436.08 on Tuesday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12-month low of $380.96 and a 12-month high of $488.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $446.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The business services provider reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by $0.39. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 34.36%. The company had revenue of $545.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.93 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.94%.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.10, for a total transaction of $1,356,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,838,871.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 330 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.50, for a total value of $138,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 72 shares in the company, valued at $30,204. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.10, for a total transaction of $1,356,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,838,871.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,772 shares of company stock valued at $6,371,121 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.