FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $291.6154.

A number of research firms have issued reports on FDS. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 price target on FactSet Research Systems and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE FDS opened at $225.42 on Thursday. FactSet Research Systems has a 12-month low of $185.00 and a 12-month high of $474.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.75.

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

FactSet Research Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.99%.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 879 shares in the company, valued at $259,920.30. The trade was a 74.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total transaction of $761,955.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,037 shares in the company, valued at $307,211.25. This trade represents a 71.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Midway Capital Research & Management purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $304,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $819,000. BDFS Capital LLC purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $492,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

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.