Boston Common Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,681 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,544 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture during the second quarter valued at $2,637,640,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,216,850,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,548 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth about $308,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total transaction of $786,883.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,333.41. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.40, for a total value of $2,280,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,678,354.40. The trade was a 38.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,674 shares of company stock valued at $5,661,414. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of several research reports. Argus cut their price target on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.20.

Accenture Stock Up 2.9%

NYSE ACN opened at $280.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $172.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.25. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $229.40 and a one year high of $398.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $266.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Accenture 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.