FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $195.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock. FactSet Research Systems traded as low as $189.16 and last traded at $188.9910, with a volume of 272979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.79.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on FDS. Zacks Research upgraded FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 price target on FactSet Research Systems and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $282.00 to $253.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America began coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $298.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $307,211.25. The trade was a 71.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total value of $760,540.40. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC lifted 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.83. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 25.40%.The company had revenue of $607.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.69 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.