Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Trims Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lowered its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 34.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,887 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 9,457 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 2.1% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 1,315,548 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Accenture by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,016,605 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,373,925,000 after purchasing an additional 326,979 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,042,843 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,182,331,000 after buying an additional 147,931 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Accenture by 12.8% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,637,640,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Down 2.7%

ACN opened at $209.18 on Tuesday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $188.73 and a 1 year high of $339.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $247.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.32. 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 company has a market cap of $128.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.28.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture’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. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total value of $289,024.20. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,656,887.70. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,564,439.84. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.69.

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.