Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 13,854,613 Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 444,058.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,857,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,854,613 shares during the quarter. FactSet Research Systems comprises 2.0% of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.37% of FactSet Research Systems worth $4,021,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FDS. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 27.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 972 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 188.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 98 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 58.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 15.6% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,347,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 6.3%

Shares of NYSE FDS opened at $212.49 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.41. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52-week low of $185.00 and a 52-week high of $474.79. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from FactSet Research Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is currently 28.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America initiated 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 objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average 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.