Note 12. Stockholders' Equity

3 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2012

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

12. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Preferred Stock

At November 30, 2012 and August 31, 2012, there were 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock ($.01 par value per share) authorized, of which no shares were issued and outstanding. FactSet’s Board of Directors may from time to time authorize the issuance of one or more series of preferred stock and, in connection with the creation of such series, determine the characteristics of each such series including, without limitation, the preference and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of the series.

Common Stock

At the fiscal 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Meeting”) of FactSet held on December 13, 2011, the stockholders of FactSet voted on and approved an amendment to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, par value $0.01, of FactSet from 100,000,000 to 150,000,000 shares. Such amendment to FactSet’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation had previously been approved on October 24, 2011, by the Company’s Board of Directors. On December 16, 2011, a Certificate of Amendment was filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware to effect, as of such date, the foregoing amendment of the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation. The newly authorized shares of common stock are issuable for any proper corporate purpose, including future stock splits, stock dividends, acquisitions, raising equity capital or to adopt additional employee benefit plans. These additional shares provide the Company the flexibility to issue shares for future corporate needs without potential expense or delay incident to obtaining stockholder approval for any particular issuance.

Treasury Stock

On December 31, 2011, FactSet retired 16,658,741 shares of treasury stock. These retired shares are now included in the Company’s pool of authorized but unissued shares. The retired treasury stock was initially recorded using the cost method and had a carrying value of $850.9 million at December 31, 2011. The Company’s accounting policy upon the formal retirement of treasury stock is to deduct its par value from common stock ($0.2 million), reduce APIC by the amount recorded in APIC when the stock was originally issued ($361.4 million) and any remaining excess of cost as a deduction from retained earnings ($489.3 million).

Share Repurchase Program

During the first three months of fiscal 2013, the Company repurchased 270,000 shares for $25.4 million under the existing share repurchase program leaving $164.3 million authorized for future share repurchases at November 30, 2012. Repurchases will be made from time to time in the open market and privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions. No minimum number of shares to be repurchased has been fixed. There is no timeframe to complete the repurchase program and it is expected that share repurchases will be paid using existing and future cash generated by operations. During the first three months of fiscal 2012, the Company repurchased 150,000 shares for $14.6 million under the share repurchase program, leaving $128 million authorized for future share repurchases at November 30, 2011.

Restricted Stock

Restricted stock awards entitle the holder to shares of common stock as the awards vest over time. FactSet did not grant any restricted stock awards during the first three months of fiscal 2013 and 2012. Approximately 92,715 of previously granted restricted stock awards vested during the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and are included in common stock outstanding as of November 30, 2012 (less 29,604 shares repurchased to cover the cost of taxes upon vesting of the restricted stock).

Dividends

The Company’s Board of Directors declared the following historical dividends:

Declaration Date	Dividends Per Share of Common Stock		Type	Record Date	Total $ Amount (in thousands)		Payment Date
November 15, 2012	$	0.31	Regular (cash)	November 30, 2012	$	13,746	December 18, 2012
August 8, 2012	$	0.31	Regular (cash)	August 31, 2012	$	13,727	September 18, 2012
May 8, 2012	$	0.31	Regular (cash)	May 31, 2012	$	13,893	June 19, 2012
February 14, 2012	$	0.27	Regular (cash)	February 29, 2012	$	12,085	March 20, 2012
November 10, 2011	$	0.27	Regular (cash)	November 30, 2011	$	12,181	December 20, 2011
August 11, 2011	$	0.27	Regular (cash)	August 31, 2011	$	12,165	September 20, 2011
May 9, 2011	$	0.27	Regular (cash)	May 31, 2011	$	12,374	June 21, 2011
February 9, 2011	$	0.23	Regular (cash)	February 28, 2011	$	10,612	March 15, 2011
November 10, 2010	$	0.23	Regular (cash)	November 30, 2010	$	10,660	December 21, 2010

All of the above cash dividends were paid from existing cash resources. Future dividend payments will depend on the Company’s earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other factors considered relevant by the Company and is subject to final determination by the Company’s Board of Directors.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The components of accumulated other comprehensive loss are as follows (in thousands):

	Nov 30, 2012			Aug 31, 2012
Accumulated unrealized loss on cash flow hedges, net of tax	$	(264	)	$	(1,551	)
Accumulated foreign currency translation adjustments		(18,101	)		(21,175	)
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	(18,365	)	$	(22,726	)