FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Earns Underperform Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) in a research note released on Tuesday. The firm issued an underperform rating and a $195.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FDS. Huber Research upgraded shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $265.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $311.00 to $305.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $298.54.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FDS stock opened at $198.72 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.04. FactSet Research Systems has a twelve month low of $185.00 and a twelve month high of $474.79.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $607.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total transaction of $761,955.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,211.25. This represents a 71.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $760,540.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $259,920.30. This trade represents a 74.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 10.0% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 3,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 4.4% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 873 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 91.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.