Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lowered its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 31.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,962 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 39,217 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 1.8% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Accenture were worth $20,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ACN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Accenture by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Accenture during the second quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 95.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 271 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $209.77 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $188.73 and a 52-week high of $349.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 29th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on 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 owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.