FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Short Interest Down 7.1% in November

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, a decline of 7.1% from the October 31st total of 2,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 281,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.4 days.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

FDS stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $485.19. 24,411 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 260,503. FactSet Research Systems has a twelve month low of $391.84 and a twelve month high of $499.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $470.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $437.93.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The business services provider reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.06 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 34.77% and a net margin of 24.38%. FactSet Research Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.2 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, EVP Christopher R. Ellis sold 13,952 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total transaction of $6,364,204.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,726,367.25. This trade represents a 37.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Mcgonigle sold 5,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.83, for a total value of $2,471,450.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,413,432.89. The trade was a 50.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,984 shares of company stock valued at $10,981,107 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 134.1% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 45,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 214.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,454,000 after acquiring an additional 3,683 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 225.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FDS. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “inline” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $451.00 to $469.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $450.00.

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.