Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 3.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 232,255 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 7,927 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Accenture were worth $57,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ACN. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank lifted its stake in Accenture by 0.9% during the second quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.4% during the second quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 854 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,902 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its stake in Accenture by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $268.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.10. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $398.35. The stock has a market cap of $165.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 9,000 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.57, for a total value of $2,246,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 23,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,868,888.12. This trade represents a 27.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 6,902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $1,725,569.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,018.60. This represents a 78.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 33,319 shares of company stock valued at $8,335,225 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Accenture from $348.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $320.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.83.

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.