Accenture PLC $ACN Stake Lessened by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,421 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 8,593 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $13,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,658,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S lifted its stake in Accenture by 35.9% in the second quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 8,148 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Accenture by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 436,202 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $130,376,000 after buying an additional 28,685 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,216,850,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Accenture by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $63,771,000 after acquiring an additional 38,325 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $272.45 on Wednesday. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $229.40 and a 52-week high of $398.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.47. The firm has a market cap of $167.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Accenture from $348.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Accenture to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. The trade was a 27.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $366,300.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,925. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 21,674 shares of company stock worth $5,661,414 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Company Profile

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.