Norges Bank Makes New Investment in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 25,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,132,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FactSet Research Systems news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,084.12. The trade was a 89.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $436.27.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $405.64 on Tuesday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1-year low of $391.84 and a 1-year high of $499.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $450.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.48.

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

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

FactSet Research Systems Profile

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.