21,131 Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas boosted its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 12.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 193,154 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,131 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for approximately 1.8% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Accenture were worth $35,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Lmcg Investments LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 5.9% during the third quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 22.8% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 367,429 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $67,375,000 after purchasing an additional 68,212 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its position in Accenture by 2.6% during the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 113,411 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $20,796,000 after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the period. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth $523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ACN shares. Argus raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total value of $149,968.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,540,029.44. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $240.61 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $192.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.23. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost 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 2.8%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 50.44%.

Accenture 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.