Howe & Rusling Inc. Buys 20,280 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 89.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,940 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,280 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $10,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Investors Research Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised 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 buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the third quarter worth about $32,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $241.52 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $229.40 and a twelve month high of $398.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.59 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.88%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 1,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total value of $488,380.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 16,017 shares of company stock valued at $4,505,916 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 target price on the stock. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.38.

About Accenture

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.