Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Cuts Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,166 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,935 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,466,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,548 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Accenture by 1.2% during 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 buying an additional 326,979 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 1.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Accenture by 12.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in Accenture during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,637,640,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $209.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $247.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.32. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $188.73 and a 1-year high of $339.90. The company has a market cap of $128.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.69.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.