HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,144 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in FactSet Research Systems were worth $21,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 57.0% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 829,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,873,000 after buying an additional 301,129 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 683,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,558,000 after acquiring an additional 192,448 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 4,209.8% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 192,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $85,878,000 after purchasing an additional 187,545 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 7,507.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 107,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,689,000 after purchasing an additional 105,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1,605.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 81,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,227,000 after purchasing an additional 76,322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

NYSE FDS opened at $198.72 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $264.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.04. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.00 and a 52 week high of $474.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm 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.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total value of $761,955.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,211.25. This trade represents a 71.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total value of $760,540.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,920.30. The trade was a 74.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FDS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $298.54.

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.