FactSet Board Expands Share Buyback; Reports Q2 Operational Highlights

(RTTNews) - FactSet (FDS) announced, on March 27, 2017, the company's Board approved a $300 million expansion to the existing share repurchase program. Including this expansion, $336.5 million is currently available for future share repurchases. FactSet repurchased 479,822 shares for $81.1 million during the second quarter under the existing share repurchase program.

FactSet reported that its Annual Subscription Value, or ASV, increased to $1.19 billion at February 28, 2017 compared with prior year ASV of $1.14 billion. Organic ASV, which excludes the effects of acquisitions, dispositions and foreign currency increased 6.5%. Client count as of February 28, 2017 was 4,404, a net increase of 143 clients in the past three months.

Maurizio Nicolelli, FactSet CFO, said, "In the second quarter, we continued to grow ASV by deepening our relationships with our clients and delivered double-digit growth for adjusted diluted EPS at the high end of our guidance. In a market that remains challenging in certain segments, we believe that we will be able to grow ASV and maintain cost discipline as evidenced by our steady operating margins."