Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Cuts Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 734 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 5,200.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total transaction of $157,443.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44 shares in the company, valued at $19,084.12. The trade was a 89.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on FDS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $450.00 to $402.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $436.27.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FDS opened at $456.45 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $453.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.25. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $391.84 and a twelve month high of $499.87. The company has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

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.