The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Price Target to $253.00

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) had its price objective decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $282.00 to $253.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the business services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 12.36% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $452.00 to $324.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 price target on FactSet Research Systems and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $314.75.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 5.6%

Shares of FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $288.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $279.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.20. FactSet Research Systems has a 52-week low of $250.50 and a 52-week high of $493.00.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $607.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.69 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. On average, analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, EVP Helen L. Shan purchased 370 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $275.48 per share, for a total transaction of $101,927.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,556.32. This represents a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher Mcloughlin acquired 338 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $296.19 per share, for a total transaction of $100,112.22. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,020,670.74. The trade was a 10.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,208 shares of company stock worth $328,505. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 57.0% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 829,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,873,000 after purchasing an additional 301,129 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 1,356.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 279,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,151,000 after purchasing an additional 260,557 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 683,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $305,558,000 after buying an additional 192,448 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 4,209.8% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 192,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $85,878,000 after buying an additional 187,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 159.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,079,000 after buying an additional 167,424 shares during the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting FactSet Research Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting FactSet Research Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — FactSet reported $4.51 EPS vs. consensus ~$4.36 and revenue of $607.6M, driven by subscription/organic growth; this is the primary bullish catalyst. FactSet Reports Results for First Quarter Fiscal 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $600M share repurchase (up to ~5.4% of shares), signaling management believes shares are undervalued and supporting buyback-driven EPS accretion. RTT News
• Positive Sentiment: Some broker actions are constructive — Morgan Stanley upgraded FactSet (coverage note widely cited), and there was unusually high call‑option volume that suggests bullish speculative interest. Morgan Stanley upgrade (MSN) Options flow (AmericanBankingNews)
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating with a $320 target (implies upside vs. current price but no change in stance). Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Company published earnings call transcript and slide deck for investors; useful detail but unlikely to move price by itself. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut the price target to $253 and moved to a “sell” rating—this is a material bearish signal and likely a headwind for the stock. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel lowered its target from $372 to $295 and set a “hold” — another analyst downgrade that reduces upward momentum. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance (16.90–17.60) was slightly below consensus (~17.33), which helps explain some selling pressure despite the beat — investors are focused on the full‑year outlook. Zacks

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.