Provident Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) by 14.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 841,302 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 146,231 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for approximately 4.8% of Provident Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $154,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 147.1% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Accenture by 134.8% during the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 110.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 284 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S&G Foundation purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group set a $278.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.07.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ACN
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Julie Sweet bought 12,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.99 per share, for a total transaction of $3,001,078.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 48,910 shares in the company, valued at $12,031,370.90. This represents a 33.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.84, for a total value of $1,430,844.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,338.96. The trade was a 83.03% 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 have sold 8,675 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,563. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Accenture Stock Performance
NYSE:ACN opened at $257.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.43. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09.
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Accenture Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.44%.
About Accenture
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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