Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,959,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 133.2% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 659 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 4.1% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 16,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,090,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 27.3% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 10,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,684,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,859,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of FactSet Research Systems 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,838,871.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was 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 owns 72 shares in the company, valued at $30,204. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.10, for a total value 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,330 shares of company stock worth $2,740,515. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $469.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $377.00 to $419.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $464.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $442.70.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of FDS traded up $4.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $428.25. 197,396 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,506. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $446.95 and a 200 day moving average of $454.03. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a one year low of $380.96 and a one year high of $488.64.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The business services provider reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $545.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.93 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.36% and a net margin of 22.72%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is currently 31.04%.

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.