William Blair Has Pessimistic Outlook of FDS Q1 Earnings

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) – Analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for FactSet Research Systems in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $4.59 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $4.70. The consensus estimate for FactSet Research Systems’ current full-year earnings is $17.20 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for FactSet Research Systems’ Q2 2026 earnings at $4.56 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.88 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $4.65 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $380.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $435.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $453.69.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $483.52 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. FactSet Research Systems has a 12 month low of $391.84 and a 12 month high of $499.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $477.45 and its 200-day moving average is $443.18.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $568.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.14 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 34.77%. FactSet Research Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.12 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in FactSet Research Systems by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co raised its position in FactSet Research Systems by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 4.0% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 834 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in FactSet Research Systems by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 736 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, insider John Costigan sold 1,622 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.00, for a total transaction of $780,182.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,819. This trade represents a 84.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.09, for a total value of $1,365,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,910,253.83. This represents a 18.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,984 shares of company stock valued at $10,981,107. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.82%.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc, a financial data company, provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company delivers insight and information through the workflow solutions of research, analytics and trading, content and technology solutions, and wealth.