Willis Investment Counsel Boosts Holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,346 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $6,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FDS. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1,356.3% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 279,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,151,000 after acquiring an additional 260,557 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 159.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,079,000 after purchasing an additional 167,424 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1,221.1% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 160,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,966,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 190.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 206,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,221,000 after purchasing an additional 135,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 189.7% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 189,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,351,000 after purchasing an additional 124,220 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total transaction of $760,540.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,920.30. This represents a 74.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:FDS opened at $222.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.28. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $185.00 and a twelve month high of $474.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $611.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $604.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 28.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FDS. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $279.85.

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.