GoalVest Advisory LLC Acquires 2,991 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 33,233.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1,356.3% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 279,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,151,000 after buying an additional 260,557 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 39.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 683,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $305,558,000 after acquiring an additional 192,448 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 159.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,079,000 after acquiring an additional 167,424 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 1,221.1% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 160,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,966,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 190.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 206,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,221,000 after acquiring an additional 135,431 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FDS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 price target on FactSet Research Systems and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $285.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total transaction of $761,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $307,211.25. This trade represents a 71.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total value of $760,540.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,920.30. The trade was a 74.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 0.5%

FDS opened at $208.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.75. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $474.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $233.10 and a 200 day moving average of $272.64.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.15. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 25.40%.The company had revenue of $607.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Profile

FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.

The company’s core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.