Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Trims Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 70.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 68,536 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 146.0% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ACN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $302.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Accenture from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.20.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN opened at $272.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.47. The firm has a market cap of $167.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.25. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $398.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 1,694 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total transaction of $488,380.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,766,851.80. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mauro Macchi sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,994,440. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,674 shares of company stock worth $5,661,414. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture is a global professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. The firm works with organizations across industries to design and implement business transformation programs, deploy and manage enterprise technology, optimize operations, and develop customer and digital experiences. Its offerings encompass management and technology consulting, systems integration, application and infrastructure services, cloud migration and managed services, as well as security and analytics capabilities.

The company delivers industry- and function-specific solutions, combining consulting expertise with proprietary tools, platforms and partnerships with major technology vendors.