Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Hits New 12-Month Low After Insider Selling

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $229.20 and last traded at $229.4890, with a volume of 2052395 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $240.86.

Specifically, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC boosted their price target on Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup raised Accenture to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group lowered shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.38.

Accenture Stock Down 4.0%

The company has a market cap of $142.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.72.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. Accenture’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 5.2% during the second quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 847 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.