Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Position Lifted by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,497 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,443 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for about 2.5% of Willis Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Accenture were worth $46,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investors Research Corp boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 73.8% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 146.0% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 1,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total transaction of $488,380.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,766,851.80. This trade represents a 4.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,333.41. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,031 shares of company stock valued at $4,509,304. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup raised shares of Accenture to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.38.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $236.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $392.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.04.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

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.