FactSet Raises Dividend 13%, Expands Buyback Program

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) raised its quarterly cash dividend by 13% on Tuesday, helping to send its shares up more than 2% in morning trade.

The provider of integrated financial information said its board approved to raise the dividend to 35 cents from an earlier 31 cents, payable on June 18 to shareholders of record on May 31.

In the terminal space, FactSet is a competitor of Bloomberg L.P., which has been under fire in recent days. Bloomberg News apologized for allowing its reporters to have access to personal client information, including the terminal log-in activity of traders and other top financial industry players.

Norwalk, Conn.-based FactSet, which has a market cap of about $4.2 billion, has seen its shares climb close to 4% in recent days since the Bloomberg news first broke. On Tuesday, they were up 2.25% to $98.03.

FactSet also said on Tuesday that its directors approved a $200 million expansion to its existing buyback program. As of Feb. 28, $55.5 million of the authorization remained for repurchase.