FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS Shares Purchased by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 121,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $35,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $612,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $186,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:FDS opened at $232.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $218.78 and a 200-day moving average of $245.63. The firm has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.69. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $185.00 and a twelve month high of $469.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $611.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $604.78 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 30.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $279.85.

About FactSet Research Systems

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.