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

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

FDS has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $265.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore lifted their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 target price on FactSet Research Systems and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $761,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,211.25. This represents a 71.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 74.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 position in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 92 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FDS opened at $201.75 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems has a 1 year low of $190.58 and a 1 year high of $474.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $273.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $607.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.69 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 30.49%. FactSet Research Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

FactSet Research Systems declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company 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 an indication 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.