2,681 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN Acquired by Gallacher Capital Management LLC

Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,681 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,078,000 after purchasing an additional 143,483 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Accenture by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $472,913,000 after purchasing an additional 466,452 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Accenture by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $402,825,000 after purchasing an additional 885,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Accenture by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,805,800 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $358,072,000 after buying an additional 106,600 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The shares were 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 $2,540,029.44. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Sweet bought 12,200 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $245.99 per share, for a total transaction of $3,001,078.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 48,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,031,370.90. This trade represents a 33.23% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,675 shares of company stock worth $2,047,563 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.07.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $254.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $205.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.19. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company has a market capitalization of $150.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.44%.

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.