Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Purchased by IFG Advisory LLC

IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 117.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,476 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,720 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Accenture by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 2,249 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 18.3% during the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 323 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 2.9% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 50.9% during the third quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GS Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.5% during the first quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 12,415 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,462,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ACN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Accenture from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $245.00 to $252.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.07.

Accenture Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ACN stock traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $250.80. The company had a trading volume of 3,400,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,925,131. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $148.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $216.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.22.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CAO Melissa Burgum sold 811 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $202,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,455,000. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Sweet bought 12,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $245.99 per share, for a total transaction of $3,001,078.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 48,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,031,370.90. This trade represents a 33.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 18,675 shares of company stock valued at $4,747,563 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Accenture

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other organizations solve operational and technology challenges. Its work includes strategy and management consulting, digital transformation, systems integration and the design, implementation and management of technology solutions. The company serves clients across a broad range of industries and geographies. Its services span cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software and platforms, business process operations, and digital marketing and customer experience.