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

GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 33,233.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying 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.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 224.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 61.9% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 16.8% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 10,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares in the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $822,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $1,494,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FDS. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 19th. Huber Research upgraded FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $285.69.

Insider Activity

In other FactSet Research Systems news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total value of $760,540.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 879 shares in the company, valued at $259,920.30. The trade was a 74.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,211.25. This represents a 71.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 0.5%

FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $208.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $233.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.64. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $185.00 and a twelve month high of $474.79.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $607.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.69 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 25.40%.The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.99%.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.