Freedom Day Solutions LLC lessened its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,332 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,713 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $978,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Accenture by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $9,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,018 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 72.4% during the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 19,455 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 8,169 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the second quarter worth approximately $25,108,000. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,466,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,628,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total transaction of $149,968.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,540,029.44. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently weighed in on ACN. Evercore set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Accenture from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.26.
View Our Latest Stock Report on ACN
Accenture Stock Up 3.2%
Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $237.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $158.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $190.56 and a 200-day moving average of $174.65. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09.
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.
Accenture declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buy back $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Accenture Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 50.44%.
Accenture Company Profile
Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations transform their businesses through consulting, technology and managed services. Its work spans strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations, and interactive customer experiences.
The company provides services in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, digital engineering, enterprise software, systems integration and business process outsourcing.
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