Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by SouthState Bank Corp

SouthState Bank Corp lessened its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 22.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,608 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 11,625 shares during the period. SouthState Bank Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $9,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Investors Research Corp increased its position in shares of Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 146.0% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at $32,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,017 shares of company stock valued at $4,505,916. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ACN shares. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. HSBC upped their target price on Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.38.

Accenture Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $241.52 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $398.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.20. The company has a market cap of $148.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. 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.