Stock Repurchase Program Announced by FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Board

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Down 7.8%

Shares of NYSE FDS traded down $23.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $273.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,249,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,038. FactSet Research Systems has a one year low of $250.50 and a one year high of $496.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $348.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 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 the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.15. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 25.72% and a return on equity of 31.06%. 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 business posted $4.37 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 28.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $464.00 to $372.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 price objective on FactSet Research Systems and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays cut their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $390.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised FactSet Research Systems from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $415.00 to $370.00 in a report on Friday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $347.90.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In related news, EVP Helen L. Shan bought 370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $275.48 per share, for a total transaction of $101,927.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,556.32. This represents a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Mcloughlin purchased 338 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $296.19 per share, for a total transaction of $100,112.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at $1,020,670.74. This trade represents a 10.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,208 shares of company stock worth $328,505. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

FactSet Research Systems Company Profile

FactSet Research Systems Inc, a financial data company, provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company delivers insight and information through the workflow solutions of research, analytics and trading, content and technology solutions, and wealth.