What is William Blair’s Forecast for FDS Q1 Earnings?

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) – Equities research analysts at William Blair dropped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note issued on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will earn $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.

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $521.00 to $518.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of FactSet Research Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on FactSet Research Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “inline” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $453.46.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:FDS opened at $491.35 on Monday. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $478.45 and a 200 day moving average of $444.61. The company has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2,873.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,822,000 after buying an additional 115,561 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,909,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,932,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $888,603,000 after acquiring an additional 42,303 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,113,000 after purchasing an additional 41,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 9.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 296,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $136,267,000 after purchasing an additional 25,294 shares in the last quarter. 91.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, CEO Frederick Philip Snow sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.09, for a total value of $1,365,270.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,987 shares in the company, valued at $5,910,253.83. This represents a 18.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Mcgonigle sold 5,410 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.83, for a total transaction of $2,471,450.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,413,432.89. This trade represents a 50.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,984 shares of company stock valued at $10,981,107 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.82%.

FactSet Research Systems Company Profile

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.