FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS Shares Sold by PFG Advisors

Key Points

• PFG Advisors cut its stake in FactSet by 97.3% in Q3, selling 186,827 shares and leaving 5,173 shares valued at $1,482,000.
• FactSet's board authorized a $600 million share buyback (up to 5.4% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10 ($4.40 annualized, ~2.1% yield).
• Two directors, Malcolm Frank and Laurie Siegel, each sold 2,572 shares in January, reducing their positions by about 74.5% and 71.3%, respectively, indicating notable insider selling.

PFG Advisors lowered its stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Free Report) by 97.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,173 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 186,827 shares during the period. PFG Advisors' holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $1,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FDS. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 5.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,727 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 972 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 188.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 98 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 94.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 105 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was 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 $259,920.30. This trade represents a 74.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total value of $761,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,211.25. This represents 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised FactSet Research Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $282.00 to $253.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $291.62.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

FDS opened at $212.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $244.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.61. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 1 year low of $185.00 and a 1 year high of $474.79. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.75.

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

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

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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