Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Price Target to $243.00

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) had its target price decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $320.00 to $243.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

FDS has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $282.00 to $253.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Huber Research upgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $285.69.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

NYSE:FDS opened at $209.09 on Wednesday. FactSet Research Systems has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $474.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $231.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.75.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $607.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.69 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 25.40%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.99%.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total transaction of $760,540.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 879 shares in the company, valued at $259,920.30. This trade represents a 74.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total transaction of $761,955.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,211.25. This represents a 71.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 92 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FactSet Research Systems Company Profile

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.