Legato Capital Management LLC Buys 4,080 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Legato Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 31.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,984 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,080 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,190 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $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 in the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Accenture by 28.8% during the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter worth $2,216,850,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were 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 $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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Accenture in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. HSBC boosted their target price on Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.42.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $205.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.71. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $188.73 and a 1-year high of $351.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released 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 return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.59 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.88%.

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.