Accenture PLC $ACN Stock: Willis Investment Counsel Trims Holdings

Willis Investment Counsel reduced its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,325 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 8,648 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 2.1% of Willis Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Accenture were worth $47,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,295,078,000 after acquiring an additional 143,483 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Accenture by 120.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $477,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $472,913,000 after purchasing an additional 466,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $402,825,000 after purchasing an additional 885,687 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of ACN stock traded up $2.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $239.64. 3,439,250 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,987,367. The company has a market cap of $160.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.65. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.03 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buy back $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,511,200. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank downgraded Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $226.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.26.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations transform their businesses through consulting, technology and managed services. Its work spans strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations, and interactive customer experiences.

The company provides services in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, digital engineering, enterprise software, systems integration and business process outsourcing.