Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Freedom Day Solutions LLC

Freedom Day Solutions LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,332 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,713 shares during the quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 323 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 2.9% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 4.5% during the first quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Accenture by 38.0% in the first quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 218 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, GS Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Accenture by 0.5% in the first quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 12,415 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

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. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $190.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.65. The stock has a market cap of $158.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.03 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buy back $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,511,200. The trade was a 9.51% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ACN. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore set a $250.00 price objective on Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.26.

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.