Insider Selling: FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) CAO Sells 363 Shares of Stock

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,084.12. The trade was a 89.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:FDS traded up $7.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $440.10. 266,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 272,059. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $455.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.73. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $391.84 and a fifty-two week high of $499.87.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.65 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FDS. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 5,200.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FDS shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $436.27.

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.