FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Shares Down 6.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell 6.2% intraday to $268.44 on Tuesday, with trading volume about 50% below the average session volume.
• Wall Street’s consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $313, following multiple price-target cuts and downgrades from firms like Wolfe and Stifel.
• FactSet beat quarterly estimates (EPS $4.51 vs. $4.36; revenue $607.6M vs. $599.7M), set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of 16.90–17.60, and authorized a $600M share buyback (~5.4% of shares outstanding).

Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) traded down 6.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $271.91 and last traded at $268.4410. 241,832 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 479,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $286.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FDS shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $313.00.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $286.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.75.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $607.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.69 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 25.40%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.99%.

FactSet Research Systems declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In other FactSet Research Systems news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total transaction of $760,540.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,920.30. This trade represents a 74.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 0.5% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 22,313 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,980,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 125,526 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $56,145,000 after buying an additional 10,172 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 14,690 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,569,000 after buying an additional 1,810 shares during the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 139.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Investment House LLC bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter valued at about $2,951,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company's stock.

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.

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