FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $308.8333.

FDS has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $282.00 to $253.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Huber Research raised FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $311.00 to $305.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:FDS opened at $207.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. FactSet Research Systems has a 1-year low of $201.80 and a 1-year high of $474.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $279.80 and a 200 day moving average of $308.52. The firm has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.73.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued 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. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The company had revenue of $607.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FDS. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 4,300.0% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 92 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Company 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.