Share Buyback Plan Approved by FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Board

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

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $288.68 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems has a 52-week low of $250.50 and a 52-week high of $493.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $279.07 and its 200 day moving average is $347.20. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $607.62 million for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 28.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $282.00 to $253.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $314.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher Mcloughlin bought 338 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $296.19 per share, with a total value of $100,112.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at $1,020,670.74. The trade was a 10.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Helen L. Shan bought 370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $275.48 per share, with a total value of $101,927.60. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 9,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,556.32. The trade was a 4.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 1,208 shares of company stock valued at $328,505. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key FactSet Research Systems News

Here are the key news stories impacting FactSet Research Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — FactSet reported $4.51 EPS vs. consensus ~$4.36 and revenue of $607.6M, driven by subscription/organic growth; this is the primary bullish catalyst. FactSet Reports Results for First Quarter Fiscal 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $600M share repurchase (up to ~5.4% of shares), signaling management believes shares are undervalued and supporting buyback-driven EPS accretion. RTT News
• Positive Sentiment: Some broker actions are constructive — Morgan Stanley upgraded FactSet (coverage note widely cited), and there was unusually high call‑option volume that suggests bullish speculative interest. Morgan Stanley upgrade (MSN) Options flow (AmericanBankingNews)
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating with a $320 target (implies upside vs. current price but no change in stance). Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Company published earnings call transcript and slide deck for investors; useful detail but unlikely to move price by itself. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut the price target to $253 and moved to a “sell” rating—this is a material bearish signal and likely a headwind for the stock. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel lowered its target from $372 to $295 and set a “hold” — another analyst downgrade that reduces upward momentum. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance (16.90–17.60) was slightly below consensus (~17.33), which helps explain some selling pressure despite the beat — investors are focused on the full‑year outlook. Zacks

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.