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

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $308.8333.

FDS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of 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.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,211.25. This trade represents a 71.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total value of $760,540.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,920.30. This represents a 74.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:FDS opened at $207.53 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems has a 52 week low of $201.80 and a 52 week high of $474.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $279.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.52. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $607.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. Equities analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

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.