FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Sets New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $265.00 to $215.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock. FactSet Research Systems traded as low as $220.66 and last traded at $222.5730, with a volume of 2296180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.76.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FDS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $308.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,211.25. The trade was a 71.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FDS. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 41,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,072 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 8.8% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 125,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,145,000 after purchasing an additional 10,172 shares during the period. Financial Strategies Group Inc. purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter worth about $7,920,000. Investment House LLC acquired a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,951,000. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 139.8% in the 2nd quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,550,000 after buying an additional 2,020 shares during the period. 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 $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $279.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.27.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $599.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.