Artemis Investment Management LLP Increases Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 885,687 shares during the period. Accenture makes up about 3.1% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Accenture were worth $402,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 16.7% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 11,462 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Accenture by 30.5% in the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,136 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 15.2% during the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 14,200 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plan A Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 2,615 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of ACN stock traded up $5.67 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $202.31. The company had a trading volume of 4,133,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,972,370. The company has a market cap of $135.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.38.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%.Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. 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. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 48.08%.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were 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 $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ACN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $245.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. William Blair downgraded Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $219.15.

Accenture Profile

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.