Korea Investment CORP Raises Holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 35.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $6,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $720,000. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 75,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,283 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $6,052,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

Shares of FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $454.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52 week low of $391.84 and a 52 week high of $499.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $453.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.18. The company has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $570.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.65 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.22 EPS. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gregory T. Moskoff sold 363 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.73, for a total value of $157,443.99. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,084.12. The trade was a 89.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FDS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 report on Monday, March 24th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $450.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $436.27.

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.