Synovus Financial Corp Acquires 643 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 92.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 144.4% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 750.0% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 6,700.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 68 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total value of $780,182.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,819. This represents a 84.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total value of $6,364,204.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,726,367.25. The trade was a 37.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,984 shares of company stock valued at $10,981,107. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

NYSE FDS opened at $488.75 on Wednesday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52 week low of $391.84 and a 52 week high of $499.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $475.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $441.69.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $562.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.06 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.2 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 29.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $471.00 to $521.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $451.85.

FactSet Research Systems Company 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.