FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Short Interest Up 11.7% in August

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,290,000 shares, a growth of 11.7% from the August 15th total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 289,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $407.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $455.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $464.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $432.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.59, for a total value of $1,249,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,259.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robin Ann Abrams sold 2,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.71, for a total transaction of $999,186.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,193 shares in the company, valued at $3,867,587.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.59, for a total value of $1,249,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,259.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,432 shares of company stock worth $5,166,986. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,571,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,077,267,000 after buying an additional 11,974 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,216,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $496,645,000 after acquiring an additional 10,928 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 272,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,447,000 after purchasing an additional 94,952 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $120,178,000 after acquiring an additional 9,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 1.4% in the second quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 250,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $102,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE FDS opened at $448.38 on Wednesday. FactSet Research Systems has a twelve month low of $391.84 and a twelve month high of $488.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $418.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.25. The firm has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 21st. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.91 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $552.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.71 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 34.48%. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.79 earnings per share. Analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 16.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

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.