Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 1,661.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,211 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,972 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. Howland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Accenture by 12.9% during the third quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 14,393 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,549,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 17.2% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 28,273 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,972,000 after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.9% in the third quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 205,893 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $50,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 2,040 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,925. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. This represents a 27.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,076 shares of company stock worth $10,256,788. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.20.

Accenture Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $286.33 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $264.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $229.40 and a 1-year high of $398.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

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.